Bonhams Breaks Records in Premier Middle East Auction

DUBAI—Bonhams' first Middle East auction has earned double its presale estimate, broken three world records, and launched the first seven-figure Middle Eastern artist.

The sale brought in a total of more than $13 million, more than double its high presale estimate of $6 million, and 94 percent of lots sold. Farhad Moshiri was the star of the night, with Eshgh (Love), a work of Swarovski crystals and glitter on canvas, going for $1,048,000, more than five times its high estimate of $200,000, making Moshiri the first artist from the Middle East to sell a work at auction for more than $1 million, and the highest achieving Iranian artist at auction. Gulgee's Polo Player sold for $336,000, more than four times its high estimate of $80,000, breaking the record for auctioned Pakistani work of art.

"We're firmly committed to the region and Bonhams is now here to stay," said Matthew Girling, Bonhams' chief executive for Europe and the Middle East. "We feel this is definitely the start of something big."