The portrait of Fatih Sultan Mehmet, the conqueror of Istanbul, was sold for 468,500 pounds in London. The portrait was painted by the Italian painter Gentile Bellini. There were nearly 400 art pieces at the auction

A portrait of Istanbul's conqueror, Fatih Sultan Mehmet, was sold for 468,500 pounds in London's Sotheby's auction house last week.

Famous Italian painter Gentile Bellini painted the portrait. The auction house kept the buyers name secret. 

Nearly 400 art pieces of the Islamic world were sold at the auction last week. The most expensive one was a handwritten edition of a Koran. The Koran that belongs to the ninth century was sold for 700,000 pounds. The second most expensive piece was the portrait of Fatih Sultan Mehmet.

Besides the portrait of Fatih Sultan Mehmet, there were many Iznik tiles, Murat the fifth's portrait, a wooden antique box with the signature of Selim the third, and an Ottoman cradle. Iznik tiles are world famous and precious for their colors and designs.

The Sotheby's Auction Museum made a declaration saying that this auction was the biggest auction on Islamic art pieces they ever hosted. Sotheby's had sold art pieces for 13,000,000 pounds at the end of the auction.

Eastern figures painted by a western artist

The museum used the portrait of Fatih Sultan Mehmet on the cover of its catalogue, defining him as the conqueror of Constantinople. The portrait is considered one of the pieces that depicts eastern figures painted by a western artist. Upon Fatih Sultan Mehmet's invitation, Bellini had come to Istanbul and drawn the portrait, which was displayed in Venice for 30 years right after it was painted.

The portrait used to be on display in London's National Portrait Gallery and was one of the pieces yearned for by western collectors.

• To purchase a Canvas ART Print of Gentile Bellini's Fatih Sultan Mehmet portrait from CANVASTAR  e- Bay Store (Starting From: Print Size: 15.7 x 11.8 inches (40 x 30 cm = 18,60 $)

Please visit : http://stores.ebay.com/CANVASTAR

The portrait of Fatih Sultan Mehmet, the conqueror of Istanbul, was sold for 468,500 pounds in London. The portrait was painted by the Italian painter Gentile Bellini. There were nearly 400 art pieces at the auction

A portrait of Istanbul's conqueror, Fatih Sultan Mehmet, was sold for 468,500 pounds in London's Sotheby's auction house last week.

Famous Italian painter Gentile Bellini painted the portrait. The auction house kept the buyers name secret. 

Nearly 400 art pieces of the Islamic world were sold at the auction last week. The most expensive one was a handwritten edition of a Koran. The Koran that belongs to the ninth century was sold for 700,000 pounds. The second most expensive piece was the portrait of Fatih Sultan Mehmet.

Besides the portrait of Fatih Sultan Mehmet, there were many Iznik tiles, Murat the fifth's portrait, a wooden antique box with the signature of Selim the third, and an Ottoman cradle. Iznik tiles are world famous and precious for their colors and designs.

The Sotheby's Auction Museum made a declaration saying that this auction was the biggest auction on Islamic art pieces they ever hosted. Sotheby's had sold art pieces for 13,000,000 pounds at the end of the auction.

Eastern figures painted by a western artsit

The museum used the portrait of Fatih Sultan Mehmet on the cover of its catalogue, defining him as the conqueror of Constantinople. The portrait is considered one of the pieces that depicts eastern figures painted by a western artist. Upon Fatih Sultan Mehmet's invitation, Bellini had come to Istanbul and drawn the portrait, which was displayed in Venice for 30 years right after it was painted.

The portrait used to be on display in London's National Portrait Gallery and was one of the pieces yearned for by western collectors.

There are benefits of buying art online especially on e-Bay, the tools and the comfort that e-Bay provides has created a shift in the way the art is bought and sold.

1. A huge selection of  artists and artworks
2. A great way to sort through a great deal of variety
3. Technologies to help visualize the art in our home and on our walls.

All these and more make buying art on e-Bay a very interesting proposition, but it does present some challenges. Here are some tips to help you optimize your art shopping experience online.

1. Watch out for low quality

Anyone can upload some pictures and many do just that. When you just see the image you can not imagine how the kitchen looks like. This creates a challange for art connoisseurs looking through the heaps of a an e-Bay art gallery clutter. "There is a lot of junk out there," said Serdar Gencer, editor of CANVASTAR which has an online catalogue for Fine Art Canvas Prints in their e-Bay Store. You can find great wall decor and art possibilites on e-Bay. Unfortunately, the great majority of art-sellers is of low quality and offers an amateur approach far below industry standards.

"We are selling art prints which are printed out from a $ 20.000  worth printer and some of the other art-print sellers print out from their home/office colored inkjet printer worth $ 100 . There is something wrong with this here.." said Mr.Gencer. "But what makes me feel good is when you ask them to print bigger than an A4 size, they can not ...Our standarts are really high. Most of the art prints applied on canvases in market  will not stand for even more than a year."

The solution for sifting through all the junk is to look for feedbacks, see what past customers saying, look at how they rate the quality of the art and there general feelings of the shopping experience.

2. Offline Presence - Business Support

Another way to ensure high standards and quality is to stick with sites that offer an offline business contact, may it be a physical location or just a phone number or a business professional e-mail adress where you can talk to an actual decor or art advisor. It is important to know the knowledge and expertise level of the people who take care of your art; it can line you up with what to expect to arrive at your door step.

"Most established e-Bay stores provide detailed information about themselves." Gencer added. "It is crucial that they have an instutional and art based background - I wouldn't buy if they didn't have one."

3. Return Policy

Sellers must have a leninet return policy, you just know that any decision you make in regards to the wall decor you buy is reversable and not final in any stretch of the imagination.

"It is important that people will not feel as if they are stuck with artworks." said Mr.Gencer. "Art sellers should pride themselves with great customer service and a very comfortable return policy. In the long run this makes stranger into friends and friends into long lasting customers."

4. Budget and Medium Decision

e-Bay offers a wide range of art subjects, styles, mediums all priced differently. So it is very important to decide on which styles and mediums you are interested in and what is your budget for your decor needs. Art Prints always have competetive prices comparing to oil painting reproductions  and of course to the original. Remember to include the cost of framing (not suitable for all art prints -especially Gallery Wrapped Art-) in your budget.

5. Research the art and the store

When you search through and find something that you like, look for a much background information as possible about the artist and the art itself. It just adds a lot to the buying experience and makes you look at the art in a different way.

In addition, make sure that the seller you are dealing is a legitimate business with secure purchasing (PayPal is the best (!) and a solid privacy policy. Remember, that as an online buyer you are entitled to ask as many questions as possible, no question is off limits when shopping online. So do not afraid to ask.

6. The right size

This is the hardest aspect to gage for art sellers; it is hard to envision the size of the art on your wall compared to the computer screen. My suggestion is to look for the size of the art in inches/cms and take out your meter stick and envision it on your walls. Remember to take into account the dimensions of the artworks with the frames that usually add between 2 and 5 inches (5 -10 cms) on each side.

7. Take your time

It is easy to get caught up in the moment when shopping. You see something that you like and you immediately decide on buying. However, it is really important to take your time and go through all the details before deciding on your purchase. Look at the size of the art, what sort of medium, the final price, your existing decor, feedback, reviews, shipping&return policies. Look through all of that and then only make your purchase decisions. It will help you to make the rigt choice.

8. Buy what you love

Many people shop by the name of the artist. My advise it to shop for what you love. If you think something is beautiful then it is more important then who painted it. And of course this changes in time.. You will get to know more about the artist of the artwork that you purchase and fall in love.

Visit our Superior Canvas Technology - Art Prints on Canvases from

http://stores.ebay.com/CANVASTAR

CANVASTAR Worlwide !

Dear Art Lovers,

At last we have opened our blog on e-Bay. We will try to give usefull information and discuss art releated issues over here.

So keep watching us.

Warm Regards,

CANVASTAR