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People walk past an art gallery in the art village at Dubai International Financial Center. Image used for illustrative purpose.
International auction house Sotheby’s will bring some of the most prized masterpieces in art history to Dubai next week. Valued at more than $100 million together, they will be auctioned in a much-anticipated event in January next year.
Art collectors and enthusiasts in the UAE will have a rare opportunity to view the 15th century work by early Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli, “Young Man Holding a Roundel”, and Dutch Golden Age master Rembrandt van Rijn’s “Abraham and the Angels” on December 16, 2020.
Botticelli’s work is expected to fetch more than $80 million, while Rembrandt’s painting is likely to sell for about $20 million to $30 million when they go under the hammer at Sotheby’s New York in January 2021.
Sotheby’s said the two artworks will be the highest-value paintings ever to be brought to the Middle East by an auction house.
“Exhibiting the highest-estimated Old Master in Sotheby’s history in the heart of Dubai not only reinforces our long-standing commitment to bringing the best of our worldwide offering to the region, but also the standing of the UAE in the global art scene,” said Katia Nounou Boueiz, head of Sotheby’s UAE.
The Middle East is one of the major markets for artworks, with auction houses generating millions of dollars a year in sales.
In 2013, auction sales for modern and contemporary Middle Eastern art surged to $18.5 million from only $10 million a year earlier. The increase was fuelled by significant demand for masterpieces created by Iranian, Egyptian, Lebanese and Turkish contemporary artists, according to a report commissioned by Kingston Smith.
Next week’s view will take place at Level 1, Gate Village Building 3 at Dubai International Financial Centre, from 10 am to 6pm.
(Writing by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria)
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© ZAWYA 2020
