1. SPECIAL
FEATURE
I
t is no surprise that great art pieces, also
termed ‘museum quality work’, whether
they are classical or contemporary,
can fetch incredibly high amounts. It
is also equally true that these pieces
generally increase in value in the long-term.
To the casual observer this might indicate that
purchasing art could be wise in the current
economic climate, or at least, to consider as
an avenue to diversify one’s portfolio.
Though private sales occur frequently around
the world, much of the level of quality art in
question is sold at public auction, which has
gained a strong presence in the Middle East.
In the past decade, regular sales have been
conducted in the region by reputable international
houses such as Sotheby’s, Christie’s, Bonham’s
and Philips. Many have achieved record prices,
some exceeding GBP1 million (QR 5.7 million)
for classical antique pieces.
Twentieth century, modern and
contemporary works from the Middle East
can also earn hundreds of thousands of
dollars. Christie’s auctioneers have sold more
than US$160 million (QR583 million) worth
proving that interest in ‘Islamic art’ and the
power of the local art world is a potent force.
Auctioning and investing in ‘Islamic art’
Post-economic meltdown, buying art is increasingly being seen as a lucrative
alternative to traditional means of financial returns. This has coincided with
the global rise in interest in so-called ‘Islamic art’ and in auctions, galleries and
museums in the Middle
East. Miles Masterson
investigates these
trends, art auctioneering,
and whether buying
works of art is indeed a
wise investment.
The Whirling Dervishes. The pre-sale estimate of this 1929 painting by Egyptian Mahmoud Said,
from the Farsi Collection, and which went to auction late last month, was more than US$300,000
(QR1 million). Image courtesy of Christie’s.

2. ART FROM THE ISLAMIC WORLD
Nevertheless, it is necessary to make
an important distinction regarding the term
‘Islamic art’, which is often used to denote
the spectrum of classical and modern work
from the Arab world. Edward Gibbs, director
for Sotheby’s London and head of department
of Middle East and India, is unequivocal
that art from the area – which in the Islamic
sense technically stretches from Morocco to
Pakistan, India, Indonesia and even China –
must be described accurately.
Though he agrees that the term ‘Islamic
art’ from this vast geographic stretch can
be applicable to both classical art (which
dates from the seventh century), and
contemporary art of an Islamic religious
persuasion, Gibbs points out that much of
the work erroneously referred to as ‘Islamic
Art’ is in fact secular, and some is created
by neither Arab or Muslim artists, but also
other faiths and ethnic groups.
“It is a very broad category…which is why
we use the general term, ‘art from the Islamic
world,’” he says.
However you choose to term it, there has
always been interest and trade in the region’s
art across the global art community. Great
collections of classical and contemporary art
are housed in both private collections and
museums worldwide, featuring a wide range
of types of art, including paintings, sculptures,
ceramics, textiles and jewellery.
Thanks to the buying power of wealthy
regional connoisseurs, many of whom take
great pride in the region’s artistic history,
such as the Egyptian Sheikh Said Farsi, and
even though some reside in the United States
(US) or Europe, many great works are now
returning to, or remaining in the region.
There have also been an increasing
number of exhibitions and auctions of art in
the Middle East and a sharp rise in demand
and prices gained for contemporary works.
This has coincided with an increase in
museums and art galleries, from less than 10
in 2005, to around 60 now in Dubai alone.
UNDER THE HAMMER
Considering the above, it is surprising to
Middle Eastern art was only held in 1999,
hosted by Sotheby’s in London which, says
Gibbs, ostensibly brought Middle Eastern
art to the attention of a much wider global
audience than ever before.
“Our aim has been to build a sustainable
growth within the market, which has a global
following and collector base,” he adds.
East sale of contemporary art in Dubai.
Eminent auctioneer and regional art authority
Jussi Pylkannen, president of Christie’s
Middle East and Europe, recalls how this
ago to Iran, where there is a long tradition
of quality Persian art. Pylkannen returned to
Europe suitably impressed by the standard.
“I thought that it was curious that these
artists were not represented in museum
collections and contemporary collections
worldwide,” he recalls. “So we had an
exhibition in London of Iranian art eight years
ago, and it was incredibly well-received.”
Though, says Pylkannen, contemporary
Iranian art has been the “backbone” of
Christie’s’ sales since then, and still
accounts for 50 percent of the market,
the growth of interest in contemporary
art from the broader region has spurred
unprecedented interaction between Middle
Eastern artists, both young and those into
their 60s and 70s. Pylkannen explains that
these auctions became a place for these
artists to interact and compare their work
side-by-side, an unintended positive by-
product of the auctions, which has further
inspired their creativity.
Nevertheless, Pylkannen admits that from
the outset Christie’s were initially wary of
how Western-style auctions would be received
in the region. They were unsure whether local
collectors would be comfortable competing
with one another in the public forum of an
auction room, particularly when up against
emerged, their fears were unfounded.
“We had between 800 and 1000 people
turn up for the sales,” says Pylkannen.
“And if you are in a room like that there
is only one buyer for each piece, it creates a
fantastic atmosphere when they compete.”
“The auction culture has been embraced,”
concurs Sotheby’s Gibbs.
“It has become fashionable and they enjoy
it, they enjoy the adrenaline drive and it is a big
kick participating, your pulse starts to race, and
you get sweaty palms and it is fabulous when
you are successful in bidding on something.”
APPORTIONING VALUE
Prior to an auction, all of the artworks are
appraised by the house’s experts and given
a ‘pre-sale estimate’ price, determined by
a complex process, before they are put on
display for pre-sale exhibition or viewing.
“We put estimates on works of art that
historical evidence,” explains Pylkannen, who
describes how a print in a selection made by
Picasso, for example, would be measured
against previous sales in kind.
Occasionally though, due to the fact that
might exceed all expectations.
The record breaking sale of an Ottoman
dagger, which he in fact dropped the hammer on
(see sidebar), adds Gibbs, is a case of a such an
unanticipated huge price being reached.
“It was estimated at up to GBP80,000
(QR457,000), but sold for 15 times that. That
is a prime example of how art will be fought
over and sell for multiples,” informs Gibbs.
“But then you have the middle of the
market where there is more of a supply,
and then to come back to the modern and
contemporary art,” Gibbs explains the dictates
of supply and demand on the value of art.
“Obviously if the artist has died then there
will be limited supply, but if the artist is living
then the supply is ongoing.”
SPECIAL
FEATURE
TheEDGE 59

3. TheEDGE60
the work, as well as the level of negotiations
between the artists and the gallery curators.
However, for those whose work is
invited for sale at auctions, the mere fact
their work is being presented for public
bidding also raises the price.
Heather Alnuweiri, of the Al Markhiya
Gallery in Doha, explains how this includes
a group of Qatari artists known as the ‘big
four’ – Ali Hassan, Faraj Daham, Salman
Al Malik and Yousef Ahmad – all of whom
are now able to regularly achieve enviable
amounts at sales for their creative output.
Value and demand, Alnuweiri adds, is
being further spurred by the attention given to
some of these artists by notable regional art
bin Mohammed Al Thani.
“It helps when you have people who are
important collectors buying their art, because
ART AS AN INVESTMENT
While most art gains in value over time,
art experts all agree that capital appreciation
is rarely what drives the buying of quality art.
“I wouldn’t want to encourage a lot of
investors suddenly rushing in thinking they
are going to make a lot of money,” warns
Edward Gibbs.
“I would say that is the wrong approach,
you have to be passionate about it.”
“You need some knowledge to really
appreciate what you are looking at and what
and it is not something that you can leap into
and understand overnight.”
Pylkannen also explains how many
families and individuals, such as Sheikh
Farsi, grew up surrounded by a tradition of
collecting and many have been buying art
around the world.
Though Pylkannen agrees most of these
families mainly purchase great art to savour,
valuing classical, modern and contemporary
calligraphic art, as well as paintings and many
other art forms.
Of course, unlike the works that appear
at auctions, most of the art by lesser-known
artists that is sold at galleries is not valued
by in the main by name or previous sales, but
by the technique and subjective quality of
The kind the of art, whether it is made
from material such as gold, and the name of
the artist that created it also play a role. This
is particularly relevant with museum quality
classical Islamic calligraphy, because at one
time the great calligraphers, who signed
their work, were highly revered. The person
who mentored the artist is also applicable to
SPECIAL
FEATURE
Untitled. This work (currently valued at QR40,000) by Doha-born fine art painter Salman Al
Malik, who is one of Qatar’s ‘big four‘ top-selling artists. Local artists regularly achieve high prices
at auctions, and their work is in much demand through both public sales and galleries. Image
courtesy Al Markhiya Gallery, Doha.

4. SPECIAL
FEATURE
TheEDGE 61
as well to build up collections – be it by a
certain artist, from a certain era or of a certain
investment is still a consideration for many.
“You don’t get much pleasure out of
owning stocks and shares [which] can go up
and down,” Pylkannen says, equating art to
buying property in Park Avenue in New York.
“Some artworks can rise and fall in value, but
if you buy masterpieces…they are only going
to get more expensive, it is just a question of
by how much.”
Considering the above, one would imagine
that these collectors would want to hang onto
their pieces, but, says Pylkannen, the contrary
is often true. Though he says, some might sell
individual works to pay for their offspring’s
university tuition for example, many
collectors build up works and then sell them
to start again in another area, or pass them on
to other collectors, such as Said Farsi does.
“Anyone who buys a collection has
only got their lifetime in which to enjoy it
and consequently they will have to sell it,”
explains Pylkannen.
“Sheikh Farsi, for example, who is in his
late 70s, from his perspective, he has owned
and enjoyed it and is very pragmatic about it.
He says now it is for the next generation to
include it in their own collection.”
Nevertheless, critics of the auction process
argue that auctioneers can provide overly
high estimates to ‘get the material through the
door’, that many private buyers do not favour
auctions, and that some works may very
well end up unsold at auction. Citing expert
personal service, among other factors, the
auctioneers understandably disagree.
that comes from purchasing from a reputable
company,” counters Gibbs, who adds that this
includes a guarantee of authenticity provided
by the auction house that the art is not a fake,
a fact especially pertinent to classical art.
“You have the assurance that there are
no problems or issues with what you are
buying, and there will be no nasty surprises
you might, for instance, get if you bought
something privately,” he says.
“On the open market there is great
transparency about what you are paying,”
echoes Pylkannen. “You know when you come
to re-offer it in the future there will more or less
be the same levels of enthusiasm…driven by
competition, which is very real.”
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
What is also clear for the Middle East
is that auctions have created excitement
around art hailing from the region – and in
step with their agenda to grow the market
by educating, and inspiring both new and
established buyers – there has never been a
better time to purchase or invest in art here.
La Foule. Painted in 1987 by celebrated Lebanese artist Paul Guiragossian, for the October 2010
Christie’s auction in Dubai, the pre-sale estimate of this oil on canvas was more than US$100,000
(QR364,000). Image courtesy Christie’s.

5. SPECIAL
FEATURE
TheEDGE62
AUCTIONEERING ONLINE
Like all aspects of the modern world, the
auctioneering process has been considerably
altered by the Internet. For a start, prospective
buyers can register online and look at all the
items for sale on their computer without having
to attend the actual viewing. And though
traditionally buyers have always been able to
purchase goods through an agent by telephone
– whether to remain anonymous or because
they were in a different country – and log onto
the auction houses to find out information, now
they can also actually bid for and buy items
online. “The Internet is hugely important for us,”
says Edward Gibbs, “particularly for reaching
out to new clients and providing a portal for new
collectors to transact with Sotheby’s…the sales
are transmitted live on the website and you can
participate from the comfort of your own home.”
Jussi Pylkannen of Christie’s, which also provide
live online bidding, is equally enthusiastic about
the phenomenon. “It has been enormous, about
25 to 30 percent of our clients engage with us
online.” Christie’s, he adds also have a special
iPhone app, “so you can now follow a sale from
anywhere in the world,” says Pylkannen.
RECORD BREAKERS
Some examples of record-breaking prices
for artworks and artists achieved from Islamic
world in recent years:
GBP1 million (QR5.7 million) – For an
Ottoman dagger from the reign of Sultan
Suleyman, Sotheby’s, London, 2004.
US$1 million (QR3.8 million) – For Iranian
Farhad Moshiri’s painting Love, Bonham’s,
Dubai, 2008.
US$2.8 million (QR10.2 million) – For
Iranian Parviz Tanavoli’s sculpture The Wall,
Christie’s, Dubai, 2008.
US$2.4 million (QR8.7 million) – For
Egyptian Mahmoud Said’s Les Chadoufs
painting, Christie’s, Dubai , 2010.
US$662,500 (QR2.4 million) – For Egyptian
Ahmed Moustafa’s diptych Remembrance and
Gratitude, Christie’s, Dubai, 2009.
“The increasing number of exhibitions
and auctions of art in the Middle East
has resulted in a sharp rise in demand
and prices for contemporary works.”
“The market is going in one direction in
value,” closes Pylkannen.
“The artists coming through are
outstanding, and the number of collectors
a very interesting moment, because this is it is
not like any other cultural community we have
ever seen. There is a huge passion to show the
softer side of the Middle East, whether it is in
arts, calligraphy, theatre, design or architecture.
There is a great tradition here.”
Thanks to the rising desire from both Qatari
collectors and expatriates for reasonably priced
gallery offerings, local artists and even artistic
photographers have become more able to earn a
living. The demand from the increasing number
of hotels in Doha, most of which commission
or purchase works for their establishments
from well-known and obscure artists, and from
mushrooming museums, which procure content
from a variety of sources, including auctions,
has also added to the growth of art in the region.
Love. From his Jars series, the pre-sale estimate of this painting by Iranian artist Farhad Moshiri, for a
recent Christie’s auction in Dubai, was up to US$250,000 (QR910,000). In 2008, a separate painting
Esghg (also Love) by Moshiri achieved a record a sale price of more than US$1 million (QR 3.64 million).