Colin Gleadell sums up the recent Gulf State sales in the Telegraph:
Middle Eastern contemporary art was everywhere last month, with specialised sales held in London (Sotheby’s), Paris (Artcurial) and Dubai (Bonhams and Christie’s). Although a new market, it has, like its Western counterpart, slowed down since last year. Bonhams’ sale made $1.8 million (£1.1 million), compared to $13 million in March 2008. But the Christie’s sale last week at least showed some improvement since earlier this year. Its sale made $6.7 million, below the estimated $8 million-$11 million estimate, but up compared to the $4.7 million for a comparable sale in April.
The only really doubtful area was for Turkish contemporary art. Here, four of the five highest valued works, estimated to fetch between $100,000 and $500,000 each, failed to sell. Christie’s acknowledged that perhaps the estimates were a little too high.
Art Market News (Telegraph)
