A further work on paper, Study for Costume Design No.3, Layla and Majnun (lot 121), created for the production of the epic love story that stands as one of the most famous tragedies of classical Arabic literature, sold for £20,000 - more than double the pre-sale high estimate of £6,000-8,000. Hodgkin was delighted to collaborate with the Mark Morris Dance Group in designing the costumes and set for their new production of Layla and Majnun.

A selection of 20 artist proofs of Hodgkin’s prints
A selection of 20 prints spanning Hodgkin’s career each fetched above-estimate prices, reaching a combined total of £355,126 – more than triple the combined high-estimate for the works. The highest price among was for Frost (lot 260), his artist proof of the etching with aquatint executed in 2000-2002 which sold for £32,500, over four times its pre-sale estimate of £6,000-8,000, followed by Palm and Window of 1990-1991 (lot 282)which fetched £23,750, almost three times the pre-sale estimate of £6,000-8,000.

Further prints that achieved strong prices include Cigarette (lot 28) which sold for £15,000, five times the pre-sale high estimate of £2,000-3,000; Multiplication of 2013 (lot 152), which was sold to benefit the Terrence Higgins Trust and sold for multiples of its pre-sale estimate, eventually fetching £8,750 (est. £800-1,000); a series of four etchings In the Museum of Modern Art (lot 192), each signed and dated ‘Hodgkin 79’ and ranking among the finest examples of the artist’s monochromatic works accordingly fetched a price of £10,000, above the estimate of £2,000-3,000.

Hodgkin’s series Indian Views (lot 109) was inspired by the sights he encountered whilst travelling in an old-fashioned Indian railway carriage. This series of framed prints reached over three times its high estimate when it sold for £22,500 (est. £5,000-7,000).

Howard Hodgkin’s personal items
A solid-sided suitcase decorated in the style of Hodgkin’s own painting strokes (lot 71) sold for over three times its estimate, fetching £1,375 (est. 200-300).

Twelve paint brushes from the artist’s studio (lot 302) fetched as much as £4,375, six times the estimate of £500-700.

Hodgkin’s paint-splattered studio apron (lot 298) sold for £438 (est. £100-150).

Ornamentation was a prominent thread that ran through the great variety of objects Hodgkin was drawn to, from both India and Islamic cultures. He especially sought fragments – particular motifs, calligraphy, colours and textures appearing in ottoman, Indian and Islamic tiles, textiles and rugs:

Islamic Arts
Hodgkin collected individual tiles from different periods and countries, spanning Kashan, Iznik and Mughal. Strong prices were seen in today’s sale, including a 17th Century Mughal Pottery Tile (lot 378) from North India or Lahore was highly contested in the sale room, selling eventually for £60,000 (pre-sale estimate £3,000-5,000), while a tile that relates to a known series which originally belonged to a now lost Timurid monument, a Persian Calligraphic Lustre Pottery Tile (lot 149) attributable to 860AH/1455AD, which fetched £47,500 (est. 15,000-25,000). Two further tiles from the series are now in the V&A museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

An extraordinary Persian manuscript Illuminated Leaf from Firdawsi's Shahnamah (Lot 139A) soared about its pre-sale high estimate of £3,000-5,000 and sold for an impressive £23,125. Originally the left-hand side of an illuminated opening page of Firdawsi’s Shahnamah, the fine calligraphy is surrounded by a colourful and detailed border decorated with interlacing floral scrolls interspersed with human faces and animals’ heads.

Indian Art & Miniatures
Elephants were seemingly as highly prized by Hodgkin as in the Mughal court, featuring frequently in his collection. An Elephant Rampage dating to late 18th/early 19th century from North India, Rajasthan, Kota (lot 338) leapt to £32,500, over sixteen times its pre-sale estimate of £1,500-2,000, and the exquisite drawing Emperor Akbar Riding An Elephant On A Hunting Expedition (lot 96) fetched £37,500 (est. £12,000-18,000). The work, dated early 17th century, shows Akbar – who supposedly had 101 elephants for his personal use alone – riding one of his treasured elephants.

A Darbar Scene, Aurangzeb Enthroned At Court (Lot 120) sold for £20,000 (estimate £10,000-15,000); its opaque pigments are lifted with glimmering highlights of gold, and it dates from late 17th or early 18th-Century Mughal, North India.

Rao Raja Bishan Singh Watching an Elephant Fight (Lot 70) dating back to early 19th-century North India, sold for £16,250 (est. £7,000-10,000). The scene depicts Rao Raja Bishan Singh, ruler of the state of Bundi 1804-21, watching the dramatic scene of tumbling elephants and figures in an elephant fight.

A delicate ink drawing of a boar dating from the 18th Century Northern India, Boar (lot 90) sold for £10,000, almost 10 times its pre-sale estimate of £800-1,200.

The evocative work Raja Indra Dev Smoking a Hookah (lot 111) dating from 18th Century Northern India sold for £9,375, over four times its high pre-sale estimate of £1,500-2,000.

A striking painting Speckled Hen (lot 161), dating to the Provincial Mughal era of the 18th Century, Northern India, Rajasthan, took flight and fetched £10,000, four times its pre-sale estimate of £1,500-2,500.