What makes an art collection more than the sum of its parts? ‘The rare and unusual,’ says Wilkinson. ‘The prince and princess never followed a set of rules of sticking to genres or specific periods — they acquired what resonated with them personally.’
Over the years, the collection acquired a kind of reverence among scholars of Islamic and Indian art, becoming a reference point for academics and auction houses. ‘We’ve grown used to using the Aga Khan collection as a touchpoint for exceptionalism,’ says Wilkinson, ‘so this is a big moment in auction history, and highly anticipated. There is no better collection anywhere in the world.’
On 28 October 2025, Christie’s will offer Exceptional Paintings from the Personal Collection of Prince & Princess Sadruddin Aga Khan, a group of 95 works by or attributed to such celebrated artists as Dust Muhammad, Basawan, Ghulam Ali Khan, Bishan Singh and Reza Abbasi. ‘It is hard not to be dazzled by these paintings,’ says the historian William Dalrymple in the video above. ‘Anyone with an eye will fall in love with them.’
Edward Wilkinson’s highlights from the Personal Collection of Prince & Princess Sadruddin Aga Khan
Illustrations to a Rasikapriya, circa 1770-80
Painted in unusual pale, silvery colours, these Pahari pictures detail the Hindu epic poem Rasikapriya, which was a popular theme in 18th-century India. The story of the bereft nayika, waiting for her lover, is told with a remarkable degree of movement and elegance. ‘The artist has used the metaphor in one page of the silver moon, and the mist in the background amplifies her desolation,’ says Wilkinson.