NEW YORK, NY.- On 8 February, Sotheby’s will bring down the hammer on some 100 lots in an unprecedented event that will mark the first ever international auction in Saudi Arabia’s history. Titled ‘Origins’, the auction will offer an array of Sotheby’s global offerings for both new and seasoned collectors. The two-part evening auction will comprise a sale of fine art by both home-grown Saudi artists alongside the leading names in international art history, digital art, and a showcase of all that luxury encompasses, including jewellery, watches, sports memorabilia and handbags.
Prior to the sale, the contents of Origins will be showcased in a free exhibition in Diriyah’s Bujairi Terrace from 1 – 8 February, in a week-long celebration of art, luxury and culture for the public. This coincides with Diriyah Season, the annual themed festival that brings the cultural heritage of Diriyah to life through a captivating array of events and experiences, and is complemented by the world-class retail and dining experiences in Bujairi Terrace.
Fittingly, the auction itself will also take place in Diriyah, the ancestral heart of the nation that today stands as a world-class cultural hub and international centre for arts. With its 300-year-old UNESCO World Heritage Site of At-Turaif nearby, the historic setting perfectly reflects and enhances the offering of this inaugural auction.
INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS
The auction will span the timeline of Western art history from important works of Impressionism, Surrealism and Modern art by René Magritte, Pablo Picasso, Henri Martin, Paul Delvaux, Wassily Kandinsky through to some of the best-known names in contemporary art worldwide, including Andy Warhol, Alexander Calder, Damien Hirst, George Condo and Nicholas Party.
A number of the artworks will be exhibited outdoors in Diriyah’s oasis-like spaces, including Antony Gormley’s Sidle (estimate: $700,000 – 900,000), exploring the relationship of the human body to space. The immersive nature of the exhibition doesn’t end there, with a mesmerising light installation by James Turrell (estimate: $120,000 – 180,000), one of the most important living artists creating art using light and space. The auction will also offer a sculpture by Alexander Calder, Haute- couture (estimate: $700,000 – 900,000), created in the final year of the artist’s life as he returned to his early days of figuration and caricature, as well as Robert Indiana’s AMOR (estimate: $220,000 – 280,000), an iconic ode to pop art.
One of the world’s best-known and best-loved Surrealist artists, René Magritte is famed for his intriguing images combining everyday objects in whimsical and thought provoking contexts. L’État de veille (estimate: $1,000,000 – 1,500,000) belongs to a series of dreamlike gouaches featuring several emblematic motifs: a sky filled with clouds, window frames and a house façade. The auction also offers an exceptionally rare and large-scale painting by Belgian Surrealist Paul Delvaux, La Légende égyptienne (estimate: $500,000 – 700,000) – the only painting by the artist to feature Ancient Egypt, an important source of fascination for the Surrealists. In turn, Giorgio de Chirico’s Due cavalli in riva al mare (estimate: $350,000 – 450,000) is a majestic example of Surrealism’s attraction to Greek and Roman classical mythology, history and architecture.
Also influenced by Surrealism is Wassily Kandinsky’s Pointillé (estimate: $250,000 –350,000). The Russian painter and art theorist is often credited with painting one of the first purely abstract modern works, and this painting was formerly in the collection of New York’s Guggenheim Museum.
One of the most influential artists from Latin America, Fernando Botero developed a unique style, depicting people in exaggerated volumes. His works are housed in many important private and public art collections worldwide, including New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA and Guggenheim. The auction will offer two works from the collection of the artist’s son. Society Woman, 2003 (estimate: $800,000 –1,200,000) underscores the artist’s quest to impose his signature voluminous figures within established art historical cannons – recalling society portraits by renaissance masters like Goya, Titian and da Vinci. A sculpture by the artist, Man on Horse (estimate: $1,000,000 – 1,500,000), plays on the theme of equestrian statues from antiquity and throughout history. In Unspoken Satisfaction (estimate: $300,000 –500,000), Nigerian-American artist Toyin Ojih Odutola also draws inspiration from the portraiture traditions of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, infusing this her experiences as an immigrant.
The auction also features extraordinary digital art, by one of the medium’s most sought-after artists, Refik Anadol. Machine Hallucinations: Mars (estimate: $800,000 –1,200,000) is a monumental real-time generative AI painting that builds from data from a space telescope with visual memories of Mars and endlessly reinterprets this to generate hallucinatory landscapes – a reflection on the relationship between technology, AI and space exploration.
PIONEERS OF ARAB ART
The auction offers one of the most iconic images in the world of modern Arab art: Louay Kayyali’s ultimate masterpiece, Then What?? (estimate: $500,000 – 700,000), which is anticipated to achieve an auction record. This expressive canvas from 1965 explores themes of exile, trauma and war, in relation to the plight of Palestinian refugees. The work will be offered from the prestigious Samawi Collection – one of the largest, and most long-standing, private collections of Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish art.
From the same collection comes Samia Halaby’s Blue Trap in a Railroad Station (estimate: $200,000 – 300,000) – one of the largest and most important works by the artist to come to auction. Born in 1936 in Jerusalem and displaced to Beirut in 1948, Halaby later relocated to the USA where she was the first female professor at Yale School of Arts’ Fine Arts division. A masterful exploration of geometry and perspective, this work reflects her experience of light and motion while riding the train regularly between New York and New Haven to teach.
The sale presents an important painting by one of Saudi Arabia’s most important modern artists, Mohammad Al Saleem. A true pioneer, Al Saleem greatly contributed to the evolution of art in the Kingdom and currently holds the world record for any Saudi artist (set at Sotheby’s in London in 2023). O' God, Honour Them and Do Not Honor an Enemy Over Them (estimate: $180,000 – 250,000) is inspired by the gradating skyline of Riyadh from the desert, with both the skyline and calligraphy blended into mosaic like designs across the surface.
Prolific Saudi sculptor, curator and poet, Abdulhalim Radwi also played a crucial role in the development of Saudi modernism and outlook on cultural heritage, invoking his own narrative of the Arab world through cubism and expressionism. Imbued with the bustling atmosphere of the city, Untitled (estimate: $120,000 – 180,000) from 1984 features a group of women at the market, with traditional motifs adorning their dresses.
Women artists from the region are well-represented in the sale, among them Etel Adnan, Helen Khal, Huguette Caland, Bibi Zogbé, Monir Farmanfarmaian, Saloua Raouda Choucair and Juliana Seraphim.
The sale offers the first ceramic work by Lebanese poet, writer and painter Etel Adnan ever to be offered at auction. Created in the final year of Adnan’s life, Staring at the Sun (estimate: $150,000-200,000) draws deeply from the rich history of ceramic wall murals and installations spanning cultures and centuries – from the ancient mosaics of the Roman Empire to the intricate tilework of Islamic architecture. Comparable examples of Adnan’s ceramic wall murals are held in the permanent collections of museums and public installations worldwide, including in the US, Qatar and France. The auction also offers the artist’s Sarah Al-Quatil (The Release of the Dead) (estimate: $80,000 – 120,000) from the 1960s, a combination of watercolour paintings and the poems of Akl Awit – testament to the rich artistic collaboration between two key Lebanese cultural figures during the Golden Age of Beirut.
The Saloua Raouda Choucair Foundation is offering an enigmatic sculpture by the trailblazing artist – who was one of Lebanon’s leading female sculptors – to benefit education and research. Secret of the Cube (estimate: $80,000 – 120,000) encapsulates Choucair’s exploration of the endless potential of a singular piece of wood or stone, and her fascination with puzzles and equations, and is one of the artist’s only early wood sculptures ever to appear on the market.
One of the most influential female icons and modern artists from Lebanon, Huguette Caland’s dynamic and daring oeuvre is the manifestation of her bold and independent spirit. This Untitled work from 1985 (estimate: $60,000 – 80,000) encapsulates the artist’s essential preoccupation with line and the human body in her own unique language of abstraction.
Further Arab artists to be featured in the sale include, Ahmed Mater, Fouad Kamel, Abdel Hadi El Gazzar and Mahmoud Mokhtar.
A CELEBRATION OF TIMELESS LUXURY
Among the luxury treasures is a curated selection of the most sought-after Hermès handbags sourced from all corners of the world, in a celebration of unparalleled craftsmanship. Standout pieces include four exquisite Diamond Himalaya Birkin, Himalaya Kellys, and Constance of various sizes, as well as rare Limited-Edition Sterling Silver Kellymorphose Sac Bijou Kelly Argent, and an assortment of Mini Kellys, from the Teddy Plush, to the Picnic collection.
The auction presents watches by Cartier, Audemars Piguet, Richard Mille and Rolex. The top lot is the Olympics-worn prototype Richard Mille (estimate: $1,000,000 –1,500,000), made as a unique piece for World Champion sprinter Yohan Blake. It was worn during several historic moments, including London’s 2012 Olympics – on Blake’s wrist as he ran the 100m final with his training partner Usain Bolt (and when he earned his moniker of the second fastest man on earth). The ultra-lightweight titanium and skeletonised timepiece is an incredible feat of engineering, performance and resistance.
A further standout lot is a Unique Commissioned Cartier Crash (estimate: $130,000 –260,000). Cartier is renowned worldwide as the king of jewellers and the jeweller of kings, retailing some of the most sought-after and recognizable watch designs in the world. Among their most famous creations is the Crash, the subject of an enduring mystique and cultural relevance. Original Crash models were produced in incredibly small quantities. Following that, the Crash would be produced in very limited quantities in special years only – famously in 1991, 2019, and 2022. This Cartier Crash is a commissioned piece – marked 1 of 1 produced exclusively in 2007 for a top private client of the Maison.
Among the many high-end jewellery pieces are several standout colourful gemstones, including passionate reds, deep blues and rich greens, by designers such as Cartier and Harry Winston. An elegant Art Deco Cartier Sapphire and Diamond Bracelet (estimate: $275,000 – 325,000) showcases the intricate openwork panels that make up their signature geometric designs, set with four impressive cushion-cut sapphires. Alongside this is a Sapphire and Diamond Ring (estimate: $300,000 – 400,000), featuring a 19.79 carat emerald-cut Burmese sapphire.
A charming pair of Harry Winston Ruby, Turquoise and Diamond Earclips (estimate: $35,000 – 55,000) showcase the exuberant style that characterises the 1960s for the legendary jewellery house. The sale also offers a Ruby and Diamond Bracelet, attributed to Harry Winston (estimate: $210,000 – 300,000), an impressive and highly-flexible piece crafted circa 1972.
SPORTS MEMORABILIA
Among the top lots of the auction is a Michael Jordan 1998 NBA Playoffs ‘The Last Dance’ Game Worn Jersey (estimate: $800,000 – 1,200,000). ‘The Last Dance’ was Jordan’s final season with the Chicago Bulls and is perhaps the most beloved period for the champion, as he reached the apex of his popularity and powers. Sports artifacts from Jordan’s 1998 Playoff and Finals run are both highly rare and coveted.
The sale also offers a number of jerseys worn by Cristiano Ronaldo, who himself moved to Riyadh to play football in 2023. Among them is his home Portugal National team jersey, worn in the 2024 UEFA European Championships Quarterfinal Match (estimate: $50,000 – 70,000).
