About Us

About the Gallery

Amir Mohtashemi exhibits a range of Indian, Islamic, and cross-cultural fine art, manuscripts, ceramics, metalwork, furniture, textiles, and arms and armour in his Ryder Street gallery. Amir strives to acquire significant, rare, and interesting objects with credible provenance. The gallery participates in annual prestigious art fairs, including TEFAF Maastricht and Frieze Masters London.
Museum Acquisitions
Amir Mohtashemi’s reputation for sourcing high-quality objects with credible provenance has led to fruitful relationships with several institutions over the past 25 years. The gallery has sold works to major museums, some of which can be found below:
About The Team

Amir Mohtashemi is an art expert and leading specialist in Indian and Islamic art. His experience in this field spans over 30 years, and he set up his art business in 1991, after obtaining a degree in civil engineering. Today, private collectors and museums worldwide seek his advice. In the late 1990s, Amir studied for an MA in the History of Art and Archaeology of the Islamic World at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).

Soha Mohtashemi is responsible for the gallery’s finances and client liaisons. After completing an MPhil in Microbiology and working in the field for several years, she left the world of science and entered the world of art and antiques.

Valeria Gaeta is the gallery manager and registrar. She has an MA in Arts and Pedagogy from Goldsmiths University. After working for different galleries and arts organisations, she joined the team at the Amir Mohtashemi Gallery in January 2020.

Manon Lever joined the team in September 2023 as the researcher. She has a BA in Modern & Medieval Languages and Literature from the University of Cambridge, and an MA in Art History from the Courtauld Institute, specialising in Islamic art in Medieval Europe.
Some items we offer for sale incorporate or are made from antique elephant ivory. We are firmly against and deplore the illegal poaching of elephants. Still, it is important to understand that any antique items made from ivory offered for sale by us were created in the 19th century or earlier. At that time, ivory was a widely available material. African and Asian elephants then existed in such large numbers that their survival in the wild was not threatened. Since ancient times, ivory has been used by craftsmen as a desirable material which can be cut, carved or etched. Ivory has been used for hundreds of years to create historically and religiously significant works of art, as well as many objects of a more utilitarian nature. The value of all these objects lies in the craftsmanship applied to their creation and not in the ivory material itself.

Genuine antiques containing worked ivory can be legally sold in the UK if they comprise less than 10 per cent ivory by volume and have been registered with Defra or if they have been granted an exemption certificate as being of extremely high artistic, cultural or historical value. Depending on the proportion of ivory they contain all items made from ivory that we sell have either been registered with Defra or granted an exemption certificate. Should you wish to take antiques containing ivory to a country outside of the UK, please advise us about this before making your purchase since different countries operate widely differing restrictions, and it may be necessary to obtain CITES permits in advance of shipment. This is a straightforward process with which we will be happy to assist.