Christie’s 20th sale season in Dubai, UAE, gets under way today and will feature four auctions covering art, watches and lifestyle objects.

The four auctions come as the auctioneer celebrates its 10th anniversary of hosting sales in the Middle East.

Christie’s Global President Jussi Pylkkänen comments: “Back in 2006, I was asked by a journalist about how long I estimated that Christie’s would continue selling artworks in the Middle East. I said that Christie’s had been selling art for 240 years in London and Europe – extending to the US in 1976 and to Asia in 1985 - and anticipate a similarly long-term view of our sales in Dubai.”

“The art market is always about culture, people – they really understand what Christie’s is about and build cultural bridges across different countries, interests and people. From the collectors who have supported the works of over 690 emerging artists to some of the most established artists in the region finding new audiences, Christie’s sales in the Middle East have played a key role alongside the art fairs, museum projects and other initiatives driving the region’s cultural development.”

Managing Director and Deputy Chairman of Christie’s Middle East Michael Jeha added: “By establishing and committing to providing a platform to promote nearly 700 Middle Eastern artists to a global audience, by offering more than 2,857 works of art, Christie’s is delighted to have played its part in nurturing this now well established market. Furthermore, we offered over the same period of time more than 2,000 watches and pieces of jewellery, attracting buyers from all over the world – buyers from up to 30 different countries are participating in our sales. Christie’s is proud of our 70 per cent market share for Middle Eastern art and has played a leadership role in the market for a decade.”

The first of the auctions, Important Watches, will be held this evening. Featuring the largest offering of watches in Christie’s Middle East history – 176 lots – the auction has an estimate of $2.3-3.6 million.

March 16 will see two sales: Now and Ten, an innovative curated sale reflecting the taste and development of the market, and a sale of Modern and Contemporary Art.

Now and Ten features some of the top works showcasing the best of the Middle East (39 lots) and has an estimate of $5.14-7.36 million, while the Modern and Contemporary Art sale has an estimiate of $3.02-4.2 million.

March 17 will feature an additional sale to celebrate the 10th anniversary titled Elements of Style. The 150-lot sale combines lifestyle objects such as handbags, selected lady watches, jewels, fountain pens, trunks and other objects of desire. It has an estimate of $1.57-$2.25 million and will become a regular fixture on the sales calendar.

Christie’s Dubai sales have totalled more than $300 million ($200 million for pictures and $100 million for jewels and watches) since the first sale in 2006. 

Over the last 10 years Christie’s Dubai has given 690 emerging artists an international sale platform represented from among the almost 3,000 works of art offered and established over 400 records for Middle Eastern artists at auction.

The world’s leading art business, Christie’s had global auction, private and digital sales of $7.4 billion in 2015.