Painting by Chris Ofili to be auctioned for first time and expected to fetch up to £1.5m

Blossom, featuring British artist’s signature use of elephant dung, created a year before he won the Turner prize

An important work by the Turner prize-winning British artist Chris Ofili, featuring his signature use of elephant dung, will be auctioned for the first time at Christie’s in October.

Blossom (1997), a portrait created a year before Ofili became the first black artist to win the Turner prize in 1998, is estimated to sell for £1m to £1.5m. The piece blends sacred iconography with popular culture and African symbolism, using Ofili’s signature materials of glitter, resin and elephant dung.