Christie’s has confirmed seven additional highlights for its first fine art auction in Abu Dhabi, a sale that also marks two decades of the international auction house’s operations in the United Arab Emirates.
The auction, titled MAWASIM: 20 Years of Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art, will be held at The Abu Dhabi EDITION on November 1, with bidding beginning at 5pm. It brings together 70 works spanning nine decades, drawn from some of the region’s most influential modern and contemporary artists, and is framed by the house as a celebration of the artistic heritage of the Middle East and North Africa.
Among the newly announced works is Baghdad Café (The Coffee Shop), painted in 2016 by Iraqi artist Faisel Laibi Sahi, with an estimate of $400,000 to $600,000, approximately Dh1.47 million to Dh2.2 million. The large-scale canvas depicts a busy Iraqi coffeehouse shared by scholars, merchants, workers and storytellers, and draws inspiration from Persian and Mughal miniature paintings while offering a view into Iraq’s social and cultural history.
Also newly confirmed is Composition (1948-1949) by Turkish-Jordanian artist Fahrelnissa Zeid, estimated at $500,000 to $700,000, or Dh1.84 million to Dh2.57 million. Zeid, known for her vibrant geometric abstractions, drew on aerial views of Baghdad, Islamic architecture and Byzantine mosaics.
A particularly significant addition is Portrait of Princess Fadia, painted in 1952 by Egyptian artist Mahmoud Saïd, just months before the Egyptian Revolution that ended the country’s monarchy. The portrait depicts King Farouk’s youngest daughter and carries an estimate of $400,000 to $600,000.
The remaining newly revealed works are Mohammed Chabâa’s Untitled (1965), Ayman Baalbaki’s Babylon Tower (2012), Ali Banisadr’s Homo Deus (2018) and Saliba Douaihy’s Paysage (1980s).
For Christie’s, the sale carries institutional weight beyond the artworks themselves. The auction marks 20 years since the house held its first sale in the UAE in 2006, a milestone the company is positioning as evidence of a sustained commitment to the region’s art market. Marie-Claire Thijsen, Head of Sale and Specialist at Christie’s UK and UAE, said the auction honours the pioneering modernists who shaped the region’s artistic history while also highlighting contemporary talent. The name MAWASIM, meaning “seasons” in Arabic, reflects that connection between the region’s artistic past and its evolving creative landscape.
The staging of the sale follows a structured pre-auction process. The works will first be displayed in London from October 8 to 14, giving collectors and specialists an opportunity to view them ahead of the sale. A pre-sale exhibition will then run at The Abu Dhabi EDITION from October 28 to November 1, immediately before the live auction begins.
The estimates attached to each lot, ranging from $400,000 to $700,000 among the newly announced highlights, will be closely watched as indicators of demand for modern and contemporary Middle Eastern art at a moment when the region’s market institutions are gaining prominence. The choice of Abu Dhabi as the venue for the house’s first fine art auction there, and the decision to anchor the sale to a 20-year anniversary of its UAE presence, underscore the commercial and institutional significance Christie’s is attaching to the event.
The full details of the sale and its highlights have also been reported by Khaleej Times, available at https://www.khaleejtimes.com/lifestyle/arts/christies-highlights-first-abu-dhabi-fine-art-auction.
With the exhibition schedule set and the final highlights now public, attention turns to the auction floor on November 1, where the results will offer a measure of how the market values the modernists and contemporary artists who define the region’s artistic record.