# Sami Zilkha artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/sami-zilkha/
Profile generated: 2026-08-24T13:50:21.977Z
Quality: medium confidence, adequate sources

## Artist identity

- Nationality: Israeli
- Common media: Painting, Silver decorative objects

## About Sami Zilkha

Authority records identify Sami Zilkha as a painter born in 1936. Wikidata describes him as Israeli, while the VIAF cluster includes both Israeli and Iraqi descriptions and records the alternate form Sammy Zilkha. Because the collected public sources do not include a museum biography, artist estate, or catalogue raisonné, the exact relationship between those national descriptors remains unresolved. The evidence is strongest for his identity, birth year, and work as a painter, rather than for a named movement, school, or documented series. Collectors may encounter his name through auction listings covering fine art, works on paper, sculpture or mixed media, decorative art, and editions. One indexed Appraisily result identifies a silver napkin holder, showing that objects offered under his name may extend beyond paintings. Any identification should therefore be matched carefully to the medium, signature, inscriptions, date, and provenance of the specific work rather than relying on the artist name alone.

## Common works and media

The available source pack does not establish a definitive catalogue of Sami Zilkha's common works. Authority records identify him as a painter, while Appraisily's auction taxonomy includes paintings, works on paper and prints, sculpture and mixed media, decorative art, and editions. A recorded silver napkin holder confirms that at least one decorative silver object has appeared under his name, but the limited evidence does not establish such objects as typical. Medium, inscriptions, signatures, dimensions, and construction should be checked object by object.

## Market and appraisal context

Appraisily's collected public market index contains 16 matched auction records for Sami Zilkha, including 10 priced records dated from 2017 through 2022. Within that limited sample, reported results range from $20 to $120 and the median is approximately $70. These figures describe the indexed records, not a forecast or a universal value for the artist's work. A useful comparison should match the object's medium, dimensions, date, subject, condition, signature or inscriptions, attribution confidence, provenance, and any edition information. Reported prices should also be compared on a like-for-like basis because auction reporting may treat buyer's premiums and fees differently. Sparse records, private transactions, and later attribution changes can materially limit conclusions.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine public artist-identity research with matched auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, reported realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. Gaps in public biography, private-sale data, condition reporting, and attribution history are preserved as limitations.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q55649283
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/308268283/
- Appraisily: https://appraisily.com/artist/sami-zilkha/