Christie’s auction of Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish
Art totaled $7,980,875 / AED 29,305,773 and set 42 new world auction records
for Middle Eastern artists. The
highlight of the sale was when a group of 6 works from Edge of Arabia, were
sold for $1,051,000 / AED 3,859,272, against a pre-sale estimate of around $135,000.
The money raised will enable the expansion of Edge of
Arabia’s education program and art workshops in Saudi Arabia’s schools and
universities. A video about this success is available to download from the
Christie’s website (, username: christies, password: christies).
Applause was heard from the
audience when the leading lot in the Edge of Arabia section, , a three-metre wide wood
and copper dome symbolising the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem by Abdulnasser
Gharem, sold for $842,500 / AED 3,093,660, more than ten times its original
estimate. Five out of the six lots offered set new auction records for works by
the artists but this was later rectified in the sale when Ayman Yossri
Daydban’s , sold for
$27,500 / AED 100,980, breaking the previous record.
Michael Jeha, Managing Director of Christie’s Middle
East, commented: “ Records tumbled in a standing-room-only saleroom, reflecting
the increasing international appeal and quality of art from the Middle East. We
were delighted to add 42 records to the 318 already established by Christie’s
sales in the Middle East since 2006. ”
Creative Director of Edge of Arabia, Abdullah Al-Turki:
“We all wish to thank Christie's for providing an international platform which
confirms that these works by Saudi artists can hold their weight as record-breaking
pieces of contemporary art. The proceeds from the Edge of Arabia works sold
tonight will go toward nurturing a new generation of artists and curators in
Saudi Arabia.”
Aside from the Edge of Arabia group, the packed saleroom
witnessed a new record for the Egyptian modern master Abdul Hadi El-Gazzar
(1925-1965), one of the leading proponents of surrealism, when sold for $746,500 / AED
2,741,148 (estimate: $250,000-350,000); an early wood sculpture of a figure by
the Iraqi artist Jewad Selim (1921-1961) also set a record when it sold against
many bidders for $662,500 / AED 2,432,700. Among the contemporary works an
exceptional piece from the talented young Lebanese artist Ayman Baalbaki (b.
1975) ,
was finally bought for $206,500 / AED 758,268 after a heated bidding battle
against an estimate of $50,000-70,000.
