Persepolis Original Book Art to be Sold by Marjane Satrapi

More than 40 individual sheets from volume 1 of Persepolis, the international bestseller written and drawn by Marjane Satrapi, will go on sale at Sotheby’s. Each sheet has an estimate of £4,000-6,000 ($4,500-6,750).

Persepolis (2000) was written and drawn by the French-Iranian artist Satrapi and has since been turned into an Oscar-nominated animated film. It focuses on Iran’s history and current situation, as well as issues of femininity. The 44 individual sheets which cover the author’s coming of age during Iran’s Islamic Revolution will form a dedicated auction within Sotheby’s series of Middle East sales in London. This will be the first chance to buy original Persepolis book art at auction. Bidding opens on October 19 and runs until October 25, while the sheets are on public view in Sotheby’s London galleries from October 21.

Satrapi has described the artworks as a “monster in my cupboard” and says proceeds from the sale will enable her to self-fund a future project which she has not yet revealed.

“Persepolis is an undisputed masterpiece, a phenomenon that transcended borders and established comic books as a literary genre in its own right,” said Ashkan Baghestani, Sotheby’s Contemporary and Middle Eastern Art Specialist. “Iconic and profoundly symbolic, sometimes reminiscent of Persian miniatures, Marjane’s innovative black-and-white compositions revolutionised the field of graphic illustration.”