Priya Singh
Head of Department
Lot 56*,AR
Anwar Jalal Shemza(British Pakistani, 1928-1985)Chess carpet no. 3 (Diptych)
10 December 2024, 15:00 GMT
London, New Bond Street£10,000 - £15,000
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Louise Almeras
Cataloguer
Anwar Jalal Shemza (British Pakistani, 1928-1985)
Chess carpet no. 3 (Diptych)
signed and dated in Urdu ' Shemza 1968' upper right
mixed media on cloth, framed
34.5 x 37.8cm (13 9/16 x 14 7/8in).
signed and dated in Urdu ' Shemza 1968' upper right
mixed media on cloth, framed
34.5 x 37.8cm (13 9/16 x 14 7/8in).
Footnotes
Provenance
Property from a private collection, Pakistan.
Acquired from the Collection of Mr Hamid Khawaja in 2019, who acquired the work in London in 1980.
Note: Bonhams extends their gratitude to Aphra Shemza for assistance in cataloguing this lot.
This beautiful diptych dating from 1968 comes from Shemza's Chessmen series, another example of which can be seen in lot 4. There are four chess pieces in this composition of varied heights and widths, possibly depicting rooks. Painted on cloth using the colours of black and maroon, the pieces perhaps belong to opposing sides. The work is cut horizontally across the lower third and resembles a carpet as seen by the finishing of the four sides of each diptych.
Shemza mastered multiple mediums which allowed him to explore a wide range of artistic ideas and techniques in each series. In his famed 'Magic Carpet' series, Shemza sought to connect Islamic Art with Western Modernism, and was inspired by the patterns of Islamic carpets, which could create a sense of movement and depth. Shemza's genius with this work lies in the simplicity of this composition which successfully alludes to the movement inherent within the chess board, exemplified through the chess pieces representing opposing sides. This is further amplified by the dual nature of the work as the work is incomplete without the other part and requires the physical act of moving them together.