Lot 46: MOHAMMED GHANI HIKMAT (IRAQ, 1929-2011) Bab El Gharbaa (Gateway to the We

MOHAMMED GHANI HIKMAT (IRAQ, 1929-2011) Bab El Gharbaa (Gateway to the West) carved wooden entrance: consisting of two doors set within a scrolling border and mounted by a large frieze; carved on both sides, includes two large sculptured door handles, all fixtures and mechanisms included, excludes keys inscribed M. Ghani 1975 (lower right of the top panel) and further inscribed M.Ghani 1976 in Arabic (upper centre of the left door), executed between 1975-1976 overall dimension: 330 x 236 cm

Provenance: Property from the private collection, Germany Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner’s family. Literature: Al-Adib, Mohammed Ghani, 1994 illustrated on page 28 and 35 Unique and exceptional, Mohammed Ghani’s colossal set of carved doors are one of the most impressive, imposing and intensely executed examples of Iraqi ever to come to auction. Unfathomably intricate and painstakingly carved on both sides, they provided the sculptor with the ultimate canvas on which to demonstrate his flair and virtuoso talent. A private commission from a distinguished collector who used the doors as the main entrance to his villa in the German countryside, the doors which are in miraculous condition, have served as both a functional gateway and sculptural centerpiece of his family home for decades. For a sculptor famed for his monuments it is hard to imagine a more fitting work to encapsulate his oeuvre. Short of a public statue this is the largest and most intricate work by Ghani ever to come to market and demonstrates the artist’s skill at harmonizing compositions on a large scale. Built up with an array of sculpted panels, each individual element of his doorway is a superlative work of art in its own right, from the sprawling rectangular frieze above the central portal to the grand heavy bronze doorknobs that mount either side of the doors In 1953, Mohammed Ghani Hikmat graduated from the Institute of Fine Art in Baghdad. He then travelled to Rome to train at the Accademia di Belle Arti, graduating in 1959. While in Italy, he also studied metals at the Instituto di Zaka in Florence, specializing in casting bronze. He subsequently taught sculpture at the Baghdad Institute of Fine Art and the College of Architectural Engineering at the University of Baghdad. During his career, Hikmat was a prolific creator and exhibitor, and an active participant in the growing Iraqi art scene. He held several solo shows in Rome, San Remo, London, Beirut, and Baghdad. He also participated in most major national exhibitions in Iraq. He was a member of the Society of the Friends of Art and later the az-Zawiya group headed by Faiq Hassan. Significantly, Hikmat was also an influential member of the Baghdad Group of Modern Art (BGMA). Founded by his teachers and friends, Jewad Selim and Shakir Hassan Al-Said, the BGMA was arguably the most important artist society in modern Iraq and was dedicated to the idea that Iraq’s heritage held a preeminent place within its modern art practice. Hikmat fled Iraq a month before the United States-led invasion in 2003 and returned shortly after the Hussein regime fell. He found that looters had stolen about 150 of his works from the National Museum and that his studio and many of his sculptures there had been damaged. Along with his own art production, Hikmat also assisted in major public works initiated by other prominent members of the artistic community. Foremost among them was Jewad Selim’s Monument of Freedom for which Hikmat assisted and supervised the casting process in Florence. He also took over the project when Selim died prematurely in 1961. Another project was the much-contested Arch of Victory which stood for decades as a symbol of Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship. Hikmat completed the massive installation when its original sculptor Khalid al-Rahal passed away in 1987. Despite the connection to the Hussein regime, any plans to dismantle the installation are still being hotly debated.