The first Sotheby's auction in Saudi Arabia was held in Diriyah on Saturday, with results showing a particularly strong demand for modern, contemporary, Middle Eastern and digital art among collectors in the kingdom.
Works by Pablo Picasso, James Turrell and Saudi artist Mohammed Al Saleem each tripled their estimates, with one third of bidders coming from Saudi Arabia, 30 per cent of participants under the age of 40 and majority of contemporary pieces sold going to local bidders.
"Modern and contemporary Middle Eastern art all outperformed my expectations," Ashkan Baghestani, Sotheby’s head of sale for fine art, tells The National.
The total sale reached $17,283,840, with three pieces selling for more than $1 million. About 2,500 attended the Origins exhibition ahead of the sale with an additional 700 visitors attending panel discussions. The event itself was filled beyond its capacity, with many standing along the sides of the 250-seat space to witness the sale.
"It was clear that in the future, we need to focus more on bringing established names, particularly because the Picasso produced an extraordinary result, with a lot of the bidders being local."
Picasso's Fleurs, a work on paper from 1948, was estimated to sell for between $50,000 to $70,000, but sold for $204,000.
There was a particular interest for artists who have an established footprint in Saudi Arabia. Turrell's installation, The Light Underneath, sold for $660,000, estimated at $120,000 to $180,000. The American artist, 81, unveiled plans for an installation in AlUla last year.
"It was fascinating to see how much excitement there was around digital art overall. We hadn't seen a price like this for a James Turrell in a long time, which was extremely exciting."
Another digital piece, Refik Anadol's Machine Hallucinations, Space, is an "AI data painting" according to the artist and sold for $900,000.
Local and regional work was of particularly interest. In addition to Al Saleem's O'God, Honor Them and Do Not Honor an Enemy Over Them selling for $660,000, all works by Saudi artists outperformed estimates, including pieces by Abdulhalim Radwi, Ahmed Mater and Maha Malluh, totalling $1.1 million.
Other Arab artworks outperformed estimates, including Syrian artist Louay Kayyali's Then What??, which depicts the Nakba, selling for $900,000, which is a new record for the artist. Palestinian artist Samia Halaby's Blue Trap (In A Railroad Station), painted in the 1970s, sold for $384,000. Lebanese artist Saloua Raouda Choucair's sculpture Secret of the Cube went for $144,000, and fellow countryman Aref El Rayess's Untitled, which depicts his time in Saudi Arabia, sold for $108,000.
While several fine art pieces were not sold, Baghestani says that Sotheby's has received a number of post-sale offers for the works, including for Colombian artist Fernando Botero's Man on Horse sculpture, which was estimated to sell between $1,000,000 and $1,500,000.
The piece was one of two works from the artist offered in the sale, both by Botero's son, also named Fernando Botero, who was in attendance and gave a public talk on his father's legacy on Friday. Botero's painting Society Woman sold to a bidder in the room, who stood up to shake the hand of Botero Jr after the gavel struck.
While the star of the show was fine art, there were a number of notable sales in the luxury and sports memorabilia categories, including a game-worn Michael Jordan jersey from the 1998 NBA playoffs, featured in a key moment of the Netflix documentary The Last Dance. The piece sold for $960,000, with four Cristiano Ronaldo match-worn jerseys selling for a total of $151,200.
While the luxury section, held after the fine art and with fewer remaining in attendance, featured far fewer sales, there were a number of notable pieces that were sold, including a diamond Himalaya Birkin by Hermes ($336,000), a commissioned Cartier Crash ($228,000), a Rolex Paul Newman Daytona ($240,000) and a pair of pendant Graff earrings ($780,000).
The success of the sale likely means that this will not be the last auction to be held in Saudi Arabia, though the organisation and selection will be altered in subsequent events held by Sotheby's.
"There are a few things that I expected to sell, but that's the risk and beauty of auction. Overall, this is an extraordinary result," says Baghestani.
The years Ramadan fell in May
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg result:
Ajax 2-3 Tottenham
Tottenham advance on away goals rule after tie ends 3-3 on aggregate
Final: June 1, Madrid
Mountain%20Boy
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LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
The Two Popes
Director: Fernando Meirelles
Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Pryce
Four out of five stars
McLaren GT specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed
Power: 620bhp
Torque: 630Nm
Price: Dh875,000
On sale: now
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The specs: 2018 Ford Mustang GT
Price, base / as tested: Dh204,750 / Dh241,500
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Gearbox: 10-speed automatic
Power: 460hp @ 7,000rpm
Torque: 569Nm @ 4,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.3L / 100km
Scoreline
Ireland 16 (Tries: Stockdale Cons: Sexton Pens: Sexton 3)
New Zealand 9 (Pens: Barrett 2 Drop Goal: Barrett)
Results
STAGE
1 . Filippo Ganna (Ineos) - 0:13:56
2. Stefan Bissegger (Education-Nippo) - 0:00:14
3. Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates) - 0:00:21
4. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) - 0:00:24
5. Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) - 0:00:30
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) - 4:00:05
2. Joao Almeida (QuickStep) - 0:00:05
3. Mattia Cattaneo (QuickStep) - 0:00:18
4. Chris Harper (Jumbo-Visma) - 0:00:33
5. Adam Yates (Ineos) - 0:00:39
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 2
(Martial 30', McTominay 90 6')
Manchester City 0
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
The specs
Engine: 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 540hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 2,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Kerb weight: 1580kg
Price: From Dh750k
On sale: via special order
