Christie’s Dubai welcomed over 500 art collectors and enthusiasts to its 18th consecutive sale season recently, which offered over 158 works of art. The event recorded sales worth a total of Dh41,863,935 ($11,397,750).

The bidders competed against the many telephone bidders and those joining online from around the world for the works of art on offer.

The sale of over $11 million marks an increase of 7 per cent on last year’s March sale total of $10.6 million, said a statement.

The Mokbel Art Collection of Lebanese Art, expected to sell for around $750,000, made $1,600,000, doubling its pre-sale estimate, it added.

The top lot from this collection was Ayman Baalbaki’s Babel painted in 2005, which set a new world auction record for the artist when it sold for $485,000.

The top lot of the sale was Farhat Al Nuba (The Happiness of Nubia) by the Egyptian artist Tahia Halim (1919-2003) which sold for $749,000 to an anonymous telephone bidder and was underbid online up to $600,000. It set a new world record for the artist, it stated. – TradeArabia News Service