• Exhibition opening in the UAE includes an exceptionally rare Royal Mughal Pashmina Carpet, Northern India, woven for the court of the Indian Emperor Shah Jahan, circa 1650, last seen on display at the Metropolitan Museum in New York 1997-98 (estimate £2,500,000 – 3,500,000)
  • Works seen on exhibition include Important Old Master and European paintings including Sir Anthony van Dyck’s Portrait of Henrietta Maria (estimate £2,000,000-4,000,000) and Jean-Francois de Troy (Paris 1679-1752 Rome) The Reading Party, (estimate £2,000,000-3,000,000)
  • The diversity of exceptional works of art on show many for the first time reflects the discerning tastes of collectors across the Middle East.  

DUBAI – Christie’s Middle East and North Africa announce an exhibition and view open to the public of a selection of important works of art from across a number of forthcoming auctions taking place at Christie’s  DIFC Headquarters in Dubai, UAE. The exhibition showcases an exceptional selection of top lots carefully curated and being shown for the first time exclusively in Dubai including paintings, works of art and carpets from the 28 September – 3 October.

Demonstrating the global demand for and influence of Islamic culture and craftsmanship from the 9th  through to the 20th century, one of the top lots on view, (illustrated above) is an exceptionally rare 17th century Royal Mughal Pashmina carpet, Northern India, circa 1650, (estimate £2,500,000–3,500,000), one of the finest pashmina carpets ever woven. This is one of the highlights on view from the Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds including Oriental Rugs and Carpets including a work from a group of Iznik pottery from The Victor Adda Collection – a collector based in Alexandria in the early 20th century, known for his keen eye and appreciation of beauty (illustrated above).

Juxtaposed with these works are a number of important Old Master and European paintings. These include a superb work by Sir Anthony van Dyck, Portrait of Henrietta Maria, (estimate £2,000,000-4,000,000), (illustrated above). In 1632, van Dyck was appointed as ‘Principal Painter’ to King Charles I of Britain.  A number of equestrian paintings, including a work by French artist Théodore Géricault, Etalon Anglo-Arabe of a horse from the Imperial stables of Versailles, (estimate £250,000-350,000) and a racing scene by British master Sir Alfred James Munnings, Lord Astor's ‘High Stakes’ with Sir Gordon Richards up at Newmarket, being sold via Private Sale reflect the region’s considerable passion for horsemanship in all forms.

Arne Everwijn, Director of Business Development Middle East and North Africa comments, ‘This  carefully curated selection of important works on exhibition at Christie’s Dubai reflects the discerning taste of collectors across the MENA region, who appreciate the very best quality, artistry, and extraordinary craftsmanship represented by these works across categories.  It is a great honour to be able to showcase these works in Dubai for the first time’.

Arne Everwijn continues, ‘In addition to showcasing some of the most sought-after pieces in our upcoming sale season between now and December, Christie’s is bringing together a foremost team of highly-qualified specialists to the UAE who will be available throughout this period to bring the provenance and history of these exceptional works to life’.

The collection of sale highlights curated at Christie’s Dubai view and exhibition opens to the public from 28 September to 3 October at Christie’s DIFC, Gate Village 5.

Works on view are from the forthcoming Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds including Oriental Rugs and Carpets taking place on 27 October in London as well as paintings from Christie’s Private Sales and the forthcoming Old Masters Evening Sale on 8 December and British and European Art Part I on 15 December.

For more information please see www.christies.com

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PRESS CONTACTS:
Charlotte Brown 
CharlotteBrown@christies.com (London)

About Christie’s

Founded in 1766, Christie’s is a world-leading art and luxury business. Renowned and trusted for its expert live and online auctions, as well as its bespoke private sales, Christie’s offers a full portfolio of global services to its clients, including art appraisal, art financing, international real estate and education.  Christie’s has a physical presence in 46 countries, throughout the Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Asia Pacific, with flagship international sales hubs in New York, London, Hong Kong, Paris and Geneva. It also is the only international auction house authorized to hold sales in mainland China (Shanghai).

Christie’s auctions span more than 80 art and luxury categories, at price points ranging from $200 to over $100 million. In recent years, Christie’s has achieved the world record price for an artwork at auction (Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvador Mundi, 2017), for a single collection sale (the Collection of Peggy and David Rockefeller, 2018), and for a work by a living artist (Jeff Koons’ Rabbit, 2019).

Christie’s Private Sales offers a seamless service for buying and selling art, jewellery and watches outside of the auction calendar, working exclusively with Christie’s specialists at a client’s individual pace.

Recent innovations at Christie’s include the ground-breaking sale of the first NFT for a digital work of art ever offered at a major auction house (Beeple’s Everydays, March 2021), with the unprecedented acceptance of cryptocurrency as a means of payment. As an industry leader in digital innovation, Christie’s also continues to pioneer new technologies that are redefining the business of art, including the creation of viewing and bidding experiences that integrate augmented reality, global livestreaming, buy-now channels, and hybrid sales formats. 

Christie’s is dedicated to advancing responsible culture throughout its business and communities worldwide, including achieving sustainability through net zero carbon emissions by 2030, and actively using its platform in the art world to amplify under-represented voices and support positive change.

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