Sotheby’s inaugural sale in Saudi Arabia has brought a total of $ 17.28 million (all prices include fees). Collectors from more than 45 countries participated in the first commercial art auction to be held in the Kingdom on Saturday, February 8th.
The sale of 117 lots, entitled “Origins”, was led by two works: René Magritte’s The awakening state (1958) and Banksy’s Subject to availability (2011), which each sold for $ 1.2 million. In addition to works of art, the sale featured luxury articles and sports memories, including a 1998 Michael Jordan game Jersey that sold $ 960,000, and a couple of graffin diamond hanging pendants sold for $ 780,000.
According to Sotheby’s, about 30% of participants were under 40 and “almost a third” of lots sold to Saudi Arabia buyers. Highlights, the auction house has accepted cryptocurrency offers for lots on sale.
“The results we have obtained here during our inaugural sale are a clear sign of the depth of the appetite that exists by art, and the headquarters that is ready to be unlocked, of which tonight was a successful next step,” said the Sotheby chief of Sotheby for sale for Fine Arts, Ashkan Baghessani.
After the works of Magritte and Banksy, sales of most important works on the auction included:
- Fernando Boter Woman of society (2003) sold for $ 1.02 million.
- Refik Anadol Machine hallucinations – Space | Chapter II: Mars (AI Generator Data Painting) (2021) sold for $ 900,000.
- Louay Kayal So what ?? (1965) sold for $ 900,000, a new auction record for the artist.
The sale also established a new reference point for Saudi artist Abdulhalim Radwi, whose Without title (1984) sold for $ 264,000, exceeding its high estimate of $ 200,000. The work was one of the four lots of Saudi artists to be offered in the sale, which exceeded their estimates. The other three works by Saudi artists were as follows:
- Mohammed al Saleem’s The “God, honor them and not honor an enemy about them (1977) sold for $ 660,000, more than double its high estimate of $ 250,000.
- Ahmed Mater Diptch Lighting (Makkiah Tale) (2012) sold for $ 102,000, much higher than its $ 70,000 estimate.
- Maha Melluh’s Magadeer (from Food for Thought) (2024) sold for $ 84,000 compared to a high estimate of $ 70,000.
