A superbly executed 10th century marble panel from Cordoba sold at Bonhams Islamic and Indian Art in London today (Monday 26 October) for £312,563. It had been estimated at £30,000-50,000. On the same afternoon, A Dealer in Artefacts by the German Orientalist painter Ludwig Deutsch sold for £312,563 at Bonhams Orientalist Sale, against an estimate of £200,000-300,000.

The marble panel was most likely produced to adorn the walls of the palace of Medina al-Zahra' which was built for 'Abd al-Rahman III, the first Umayyad Caliph of Cordoba, who reigned 929-961. Similar panels can still be seen in situ in the reception hall which can be dated by inscriptions to between 953 and 957.

Bonhams Head of Islamic and Indian Art, Oliver White, said: "This was a superb example of the intricately carved naturalistic decoration characteristic of the art of Umayyad Spain. In the centuries after Medina al-Zahra' was destroyed in 1010, its decorative architectural elements were dispersed and reused in new buildings throughout southern Spain. Both its provenance and its intrinsic beauty made this a very desirable piece and led to the spirited bidding and the very impressive price."

Untitled (Man with Squirrels) by Majit Bawa (Indian 1941-2008). Sold for £250,063.

Other highlights included:

• Untitled (Man with squirrels) by Majit Bawa (Indian 1941-2008). Sold for £250,063. Estimate: £150,000-250,000.

• An Umayyad gold dinar from the reign of 'Abd al-Malik (ad 685-705) most probably made in Damascus, dated ah 77/ad 696-697. This highly important example of the first wholly Islamic coin sold for £112,563. Estimate: £90,000-110,000.

• Sa'di, Kulliyat, with eight miniatures Persia, late 16th century. The manuscript depicts four episodes from the Gulistan, two from the hazliyyats (censored in modern editions) and two from his ghazals. Sold for £85,063. Estimate: £12,000-15,000.

• Landscape by Akbar Padamsee (Indian 1928-2020). Sold for £100,063. Estimate: £80,000-120,000.

• A gem-set gold forehead pendant (chand-tikka), gem-set gold mirrored roundel and a pearl-mounted gold pendant that once belonged to Maharani Jindan Kaur, last wife of Maharajah Ranjit Singh, the Lion of Punjab, and which were inherited by her granddaughter Princess Bamba Sutherland. Sold for £62,563. Estimate £60,000-80,000.

• A rare and large 19th century panoramic watercolour view of the Golden Temple and the city of Amritsar, attributed to Cyril Herbert (1847-1882). This is believed to be the largest depiction of the Golden Temple in watercolour ever to have come onto the market. Sold for £75,063. Estimate: £60,000-80,000.

• A portrait of Viscount Hardinge of Lahore, Governor-General of India, accompanied by his two sons and his aide-de-camp Colonel Wood, on the battlefield after the victory at Ferozeshah during the first Anglo-Sikh war by Sir Francis Grant (1803-78). Sold for £50,063. Estimate: £40,000-60,000.

The top lot of the Orientalist Art Sale was Ludwig Deutsch's A Dealer in Artefacts that achieved £312,463.

Other highlights included:
• The Street of the Ghoreeyah, Cairo, a newly discovered work by the British Orientalist Charles Robertson (1844-1891), which sold for £150,063 having had an estimate of £120,000-180,000;
• A further painting by Ludwig Deutsch – The Performance – made £57,563 against an estimate of £30,000-50,000.
• There was fierce bidding on The Scholar by the Russian artist Wilhelmine Schwank. The painting was estimated at £4,000-6,000, but strong interest in the auction room, on the telephone and on the internet pushed the selling price to £51,313.

The 22-lot sale made a total of £709,213 with 82% sold by lot and 83% sold by value.