Nima Sagharchi

Nima Sagharchi was appointed Group Head of Middle Eastern, Islamic and South Asian Art in 2022. He joined Bonhams in 2014 to re-establish the Modern Middle Eastern Art department. Since 2018, he has managed the Islamic and South Asian Art teams.

Under Nima's leadership, the departments have enjoyed some of their highest sale totals to date - most notably the £5 million white glove sale of the Abraaj Collection in 2018 and the ground-breaking 'Baghdadiyat' auctions in 2021, featuring masterpieces of Iraqi modernism from the Madhloom, Makiya and Jawdat Collections, which saw world record prices achieved for pioneering artists like Kadhim Hayder and Jewad Selim.

During his tenure as Head of Modern & Contemporary Middle Eastern Art, Nima was responsible for curating Bonham's biannual sales of Arab and Iranian art, notably organising landmark auctions of Egyptian, Iraqi and Lebanese modernism - the first of their kind - which saw numerous works being acquired by major regional institutions and museums. His auctions have broken over 40 artists' records to date, including twice for the most valuable Arab artwork sold outside the region with Mahmoud Said's L'ile Heureuse for £1.2 million in 2017 and Le Chomeur for £1.22 million in 2020.

In the Islamic and Indian Art category, Nima oversees a vibrant sales calendar with exceptional results for works of Indian and Persian origin, as well as strong private sales activity. He negotiated the private sale of one of the most valuable Umayyad objects ever sold, acquired by a major Gulf institution.

Nima has over 15 years of experience in the Middle Eastern Art market. In 2008, he co-curated Conference of the Birds, a milestone exhibition of Iranian modern and contemporary art in London. He has also lectured extensively on the art of the Middle East, including at the Aga Khan Foundation and Sotheby's Institute of Art, and has contributed to popular art journals such as Canvas and Harper's Bazaar Art Arabia, as well as major publications including The Farhad Moshiri Monograph, Skira, 2016, and From Passion to Patronage: The AbdulMagid Breish Collection, Skira 2020. He studied Philosophy and Logic at the London School of Economics.