The Tamesis
Sotheby’s has announced that it will hold its second auction in Saudi Arabia on January 31. In February this year, Sotheby’s held the Kingdom’s first international auction, selling art, luxury goods and sports memorabilia in the ultra-upscale town of Diriyah, just a stone’s throw from the capital Riyadh. Diriyah is the original residence of the Saudi royal family. Next year’s sale – called “Origins II” – will be held at the same venue but will feature only art objects, although Sotheby’s has tweaked its strategy to try to inject more nitro into the bidding.
Its first auction in Saudi Arabia, dubbed “Origin,” fell within the house’s presale estimate, bringing in $17.3 million from 117 lots. However, 40 of the lots were unsold, including about half of the 28 jewelry lots and 8 of the 17 handbag lots. The overall sell-through rate is 65.8%. This year’s sale also precedes Origins slightly earlier, taking place the weekend before the opening of Art Basel Qatar’s inaugural edition.
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Sotheby’s is the first to admit that its push into the Middle East is a fact-finding mission, at least for now. “We are in a new position,” said Edward Gibbs, the company’s chairman for the Middle East and India. art news Over lunch in Diriyah in February. Before the sale, Julian Dawes, Sotheby’s head of Impressionist and modern art in New York, said: “We are testing the waters. This is a marathon. Whatever the outcome, we will be wiser.”
Recently, Ashkan Baghestani, Sotheby’s head of contemporary art day sales, said art news Saudi Arabia’s first auction was “exploratory in many ways”.
“This is a new market for us and as we continue to listen closely to our customers locally and across the region, each auction will evolve naturally – influenced by different periods, genres and sentiments,” he said. “Building on the results achieved in February, this sale focuses on art and reflects the strong interest we are seeing among collectors.”
“Origins II” will feature more than 70 works by international artists, with a focus on artists from the Middle East. “The sale brings together works of art and objects from a wide range of collection categories, including ancient sculpture, 20th-century design and prints, Middle Eastern art, modern and contemporary works, Latin American art, and modern and contemporary South Asian art,” Sotheby’s said in a statement.
Headlining lots are by auction-tested blue-chip artists, including a 2005 aluminum paint sculpture by Anish Kapoor, estimated at $800,000, and a 1982 screen print by Andy Warhol Disturbing Muse (after De Chirico)with a high estimate of $1.2 million. Artists Mohammed Al Saleem (from Saudi Arabia), Mahmoud Sabri (Iraq) and Samia Halaby (Palestine) are also among them.
Last time at Diriyah’s posh Boujari terrace, works by Middle Eastern artists were selling well. For example, Halaby’s abstract painting nearly doubled its high estimate of $200,000, while Abdulhalim Radwi’s striking untitled painting exceeded its estimate, selling for $264,000.
“Returning to Saudi Arabia for our second sale in the country is truly special, especially since it is my home country,” Fahad Malloh, Sotheby’s director of business strategy and chief of staff to the CEO, said in a statement. “We have fresh memories of our first sale, and we look forward to presenting an extraordinary array of works to collectors and celebrating the Kingdom’s vibrant art scene.”
Sotheby’s is on a mission to expand into the Middle East. In early December, it hosted Abu Dhabi Collectors Week, a series of outdoor luxury sales events in the UAE. The sale (not including any artwork) brought in an impressive $133 million. The event was facilitated by a $1 billion deal between Sotheby’s and Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund ADQ, giving it a foothold in the region.
