LONDON.- Christie’s and TDIC announced that it will stage a historic international exhibition in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates in October under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman, Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC), Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority and Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture & Heritage. This exhibition is a vital component of Christie’s global exhibition programme which tours selected masterpieces to international locations such as London, New York, Hong Kong and Moscow, and will be the first of its kind held in the Middle East. The event, which will take place on 26 and 27 October at the Emirates Palace Hotel, Abu Dhabi, will feature leading international sale highlights and masterpieces loaned from private collectors and will be held in association with TDIC, the name behind the planned Cultural District of Saadiyat Island, and sponsored by Credit Suisse.

This major exhibition will be followed by Christie’s fifth auction series in the Middle East to be held at Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel in Dubai. Sponsored by Credit Suisse, this potentially record breaking season of auctions will include outstanding sales of Jewels and Watches and International Modern and Contemporary Art to be held on 29 and 30 October respectively.

Jussi Pylkkänen, President of Christie’s Europe and Middle East: “In full recognition of the growing importance of the artistic community in the Middle East and of Christie’s commitment to the region, I am delighted that we have been invited to bring this extremely significant exhibition of masterpieces to Abu Dhabi this October. It will give collectors a unique opportunity to view some of the greatest works of art being sold by Christie’s International in our leading salerooms around the globe. The show will also feature the best of Middle East art which will be exhibited alongside works loaned from major private collections in the region and highlights from our forthcoming sales in Dubai.”

“We are delighted to be working with TDIC in staging this landmark exhibition together and to continue a sponsoring partnership with Credit Suisse, one of the leading global providers of financial products and services in Private Banking, Investment Banking, and Asset Management. With the support of Credit Suisse Christie’s is proud to be continuing to help drive the local art market, and in bringing to Abu Dhabi works from across the globe, making art more accessible to the region,” said Michael Jeha, Managing Director, Middle East.

International Exhibition, in association with TDIC and sponsored by Credit Suisse
26 and 27 October 2008, Emirates Palace Hotel, Abu Dhabi

Christie’s international exhibition will present approximately 75 works of art including leading highlights from the auctions of Impressionist and Modern and Post-War and Contemporary art in New York in November 2008; the corresponding series of sale in May realised over US$750 million and sold works by Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol and Lucian Freud, among others. Further highlights of the exhibition will include major works from the auctions of Jewels and Watches and International Modern and Contemporary Art on 29 and 30 October in Dubai, contemporary Asian art, Orientalist paintings and an impressive selection of jewels and watches sourced from forthcoming auctions in London, Paris, Geneva, New York and Hong Kong. The exhibition will be complemented by approximately 25 works of art on loan from Middle Eastern private collections, a tribute to the connoisseurship of collections in the region.

Christie’s Fifth Middle East Sales Series
Auctions of Jewels and Watches and International Modern and Contemporary Art
29 and 30 October, Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel, Dubai

In April 2008, Christie’s auctions of Jewels and Watches and International Modern and Contemporary Art realised over $40 million and saw 6 works sell for over US$1 million, as the global interest in the Middle Eastern art market saw prices move to new levels. Since Christie’s opened an office in Dubai in 2005 and became the first international auction house to have a permanent presence in the Middle East, it has realised over $100 million since its first sale in 2006, and has seen buyers from an average of over 30 countries at each sale.

The forthcoming auction of Jewels and Watches will take place on 29 October. Highlights include a radiant-cut fancy intense yellow diamond ring, weighing 57.02 carats (estimate US$2,000,000-2,500,000); a heart-shaped diamond pendant, weighing 9.24 carats, D colour potentially flawless (estimate US$900,000-1,000,000); and a pear-shaped yellow diamond necklace suspending a diamond drop weighing 14.26 carats (estimate US$600,000-800,000).

The auction of International Modern and Contemporary Art will take place on 30 October. Early highlights include a huge and spectacular triptych by the Algerian artist Rachid Koraichi (b. 1947) (estimate: US$400,000-600,000); two of the most important works by Fateh Moudarres (Syrian, 1922-1999), Untitled, 1967, from the Collection of Adonis (estimate: US$150,000-200,000) and Achtar, 1983 (estimate: US$120,000-160,000); and Happy (estimate: US$250,000-350,000), a light installation by the British duo Tim Noble & Sue Webster (b. 1966 and b. 1967). Additionally, by far the strongest selection of 1960s Saqqa-khaneh works ever seen in auction, headlined by Faramaz Pilaram (Iranian, 1937-1982) Untitled, 1962 ($350,000-500,000) and Charles Hossein Zenderoudi Untitled (estimate: US$300,000-500,000), from the same period will be shown as well as a selection of other important works by both artists.