Christie’s Abu Dhabi Auction: Farmanfarmaian Leads an $8.9m Debut Sale
Christie’s first fine-art auction in Abu Dhabi raised $8.94m for modern and contemporary art from the Middle East and North Africa. It was the house’s highest evening total for the category in more than ten years. The sale, MAWASIM: 20 Years of Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art, took place at The Abu Dhabi EDITION on 1 November, twenty years after Christie’s first auction in the UAE. It adds a saleroom to the growing market for collecting rare objects in 2026.
● In brief
The top lot. Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian’s mirror mosaic Variations on the Hexagon (2006) sold for $844,800 after almost seven minutes of bidding. The estimate was $150,000 to $250,000. Fahrelnissa Zeid’s Composition followed at $524,800.
The records. Nine artists set auction records, among them Paul Guiragossian and Samia Halaby. Four appeared at auction for the first time: the painter Nabil Kanso and the Emirati artists Rami Farook, Fatma Lootah and Afra Al Dhaheri.
The bidders. More than 30 per cent of registered bidders were millennials or Gen Z, and 37 per cent were new to Christie’s. The auction house published registrations and did not say how many of these bidders bought.
The collections. Seventy works by 58 artists from 13 countries were offered, including pieces from the Dalloul Collection in Beirut and the Barjeel Art Foundation in Sharjah. The Abu Dhabi Investment Office was strategic partner, with support from Kering.
● Why it matters
Abu Dhabi is building a cultural season around art from its own region. Frieze Abu Dhabi holds its first edition from 19 to 22 November. The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi opens on Saadiyat Island on 11 December.
The sale also showed who now competes for these works. Collections built in Beirut and Sharjah supplied leading lots, and artists from Iran, Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon and Egypt set the highest prices. Three Emirati artists entered the auction market on the same evening.
Measured against Christie’s first sale in the UAE, the category has grown. The Dubai auction in May 2006 raised $8.5m, but Indian art accounted for about $6m of it, and the most expensive Arab work sold for $284,800. In Abu Dhabi, art from the Middle East and North Africa alone raised $8.94m, and the top lot made $844,800. The demand is concentrated: four works brought in almost $2.4m, more than a quarter of the evening.
Whether Abu Dhabi becomes a regular saleroom depends on the weeks ahead. Anthea Peers, president of Christie’s for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, called the sale a milestone and said the house looks forward to what comes next. Frieze and the Guggenheim opening will show how many of the new bidders return as buyers.
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A Mirror Set, a Blue-Green Diamond, a Journe: Four Records and One Rule
Four salerooms, four records in 2026: what collectors now pay the highest prices for.
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Sources
- Christie’s, Christie’s holds Abu Dhabi’s first dedicated fine art auction, realising more than USD$8.9 million, 1 November 2026: press.christies.com
- Christie’s, Marking 20 years since Christie’s inaugural sale in the UAE, Christie’s presents a landmark auction in Abu Dhabi (Frieze Abu Dhabi, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi), 2026: press.christies.com
- The Art Newspaper, Christie’s hails success of “first” Middle East sale, 1 July 2006: theartnewspaper.com