Christie’s held its MAWASIM: 20 Years of Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art auction at The Abu Dhabi EDITION on 1 November. The sale realised $8,940,800, making it the first fine art auction in Abu Dhabi and marking 20 years since Christie’s first auction in the UAE.
The evening sale brought together works by artists from across the Middle East and North Africa. Christie’s said it was the highest total for one of its Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art evening sales in more than ten years. More than 30% of registrants were Millennials and Gen Z, while 37% were new to Christie’s.
Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian’s 2006 work Variations on the Hexagon led the sale at $844,800, following almost seven minutes of competitive bidding. Its estimate was $150,000–250,000.
