Rachid Koraichi Nabil Nahas Mohammad Ehsai Parviz Tanavoli In Brief: Christie’s When in Dubai for... Contemparabia All Dried Up? Scaled-Down Dubai Sale Does Well at Christie’s

Send a letter to the Editor

Save to Del.icio.us Digg this

The auction house was able to report a fairly impressive 70 percent of lots sold yesterday, compared to 84 percent at its first sale of the year in April, though that prior sale earned $40 million. The house said it didn't provide guarantees to consignors.

“This is our best collection of Arab and Iranian art ever,” said Michael Jeha, managing director of Christie's Middle East, on Oct. 28, a day before the auction began. “The jewelry team lowered its estimates slightly, but for picture sales we left estimates as they are because paintings over time retain their value.”

The sale’s two biggest earners were Triptych (La Passion avec croix, ame et bagages, and triangle bigames) by Algerian artist Rachid Koraichi, which went for $482,500 (est. $400–600,000), and Iranian artist Mohammed Ehsai's Loving Whisper, which sold for an identical price against an estimate of $300–500,000.

More disappointing was the result for Iranian sculptor Parviz Tanavoli, whose The Wall (Oh Persepolis) sold for a record $2.84 million in April. This time around, his bronze work Poet in Love fetched only $242,500 against a low estimate of $400,000.

Although the sale earned much less than people hoped, some managed to find the silver lining. “It's a bargain for the buyers,'' said Tariq al-Jaidah, a collector from Qatar, who spent more than $300,000 on three pieces including $170,500 for an untitled work by Lebanese artist Nabil Nahas (est. $150,000–200,000).