Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • AMMpro
  • AMM Fantasy Collecting Game
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

Gulf Auctions Propped Up By Foreign Buyers

April 28, 2013 by Marion Maneker

Georgina Adam burrows into the details of the recent Gulf State sales by the two global auction houses to find the strengthening market there skewed by foreign buyers:

The first was Christie’s smallest ever sale in Dubai, on April 16. The estimate of up to $5.5m was topped with a total of $6.4m (presale estimates don’t include premiums but results do). The top lot was Farhad Moshiri’s “Secret Garden” (2009), which beat its $300,000-$500,000 estimate to make $987,750. The result puts Christie’s sales in the region back on an upward trend, and bettered the $5.8m it netted in October last year.

Apparently juicier was Sotheby’s sale of contemporary art – both international and Middle Eastern – held in Doha on April 22. This fetched $15.2m, towards the top end of expectations, and set the highest total for an auction of contemporary art in the region. The sell-through rate, at 89.1 per cent, was good, and nine new artist records were made, including $1.5m for the Egyptian Chant Avedissian’s 120-part “Icons of the Nile” (1991-2010), which went to a Middle Eastern collector.

However, a closer look reveals that most of the top lots had irrevocable bids on them, meaning they were effectively presold. This was the case for Avedissian’s work, a Damien Hirst medicine cabinet, which just made its low estimate at $485,000, and the highest priced work in the sale, Donald Judd’s “Untitled (Bernstein 90-01)” (1990), which sold for $3.5m. This was bought by a US dealer, as was Julie Mehrethu’s “Rising Down” (2008), at just over $3m. Apparently only two of the top 10 lots went to local buyers

 The Art Market: First Nations Fire Warning Shots (Financial Times)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • Bonhams in Play: How Much and to Whom?Bonhams in Play: How Much and to Whom?
  • Why Indian Elite Love EnglandWhy Indian Elite Love England
  • Phillips One Drop Sale = $8.8mPhillips One Drop Sale = $8.8m
  • Who Are the Third Party Guarantors?Who Are the Third Party Guarantors?
  • Is This the $40m Lichtenstein?Is This the $40m Lichtenstein?
  • Paintings Too Valuable to Display in Irish House Cause Uproar When Offered for SalePaintings Too Valuable to Display in Irish House Cause Uproar When Offered for Sale

Filed Under: Emerging Markets

About Marion Maneker

LiveArt

Want to get Art Market Monitor‘s posts sent to you in our email? Sign up below by clicking on the Subscribe button.

  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
California Privacy Rights
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertise on Art Market Monitor