DUBAI: On Feb. 8, Sotheby’s will host “Origins,” which it is billing as “the first international auction in Saudi Arabia’s history.” Alongside works from famed international artists such as Rene Magritte and Andy Warhol, and regional luminaries including Etel Adnan and Mohammed Al-Saleem, the auction will also feature a number of luxury items and sports-related lots. Many of the lots will be on display in the accompanying exhibition which runs from Feb. 1-8 in Diriyah’s Bujairi Terrace. Here, we highlight a few of the  items that will feature in the sale. 

Louay Kayyali’s ‘Then What??’ 

Anticipated to achieve an auction record, the 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 Samawi Collection – one of the largest, and most long-standing, private collections of Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish art.

Rene Magritte’s ‘L’Etat de veille’

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” belongs to a series of dreamlike gouaches featuring several emblematic motifs: a sky filled with clouds, window frames and a house façade.

Refik Anadol’s ‘Machine Hallucinations: Mars’

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 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.

Mohammad Al-Saleem’s ‘O' God, Honour Them and Do Not Honor an Enemy Over Them’

A true pioneer, Saudi arist Mohammad 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” 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.

Michael Jordan’s 1998 playoffs shirt 

One of the auction’s top lots — expected to fetch around $1 million (SRA 3,753,740) — is this iconic No. 23 shirt, worn by the greatest basketball player of all time in the NBA playoffs of his final season with the Chicago Bulls, which has come to be known as ‘The Last Dance.’ It is, Sotheby’s states in the auction notes, “perhaps the most beloved period for the champion, as he reached the apex of his popularity and powers.” Artifacts from this period are, the auction house says, “both highly rare and coveted.” 

Ruby and diamond bracelet 

Among the many high-end jewelry pieces on offer at “Origins,” including an Art Deco sapphire and diamond bracelet, and a sapphire and diamond ring from Cartier, is this ruby and diamond bracelet attributed to US jewelry house Harry Winston, described as “an impressive and highly flexible piece crafted circa 1972.” It is expected to sell for between $210,000 and $300,000. 

Cristiano Ronaldo jerseys 

“Origins” will feature several shirts worn by one of the greatest football players in history: Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese legend — who now lives in Riyadh and plays for Al-Nassr — has won FIFA’s Ballon D’or five times (only Lionel Messi has more) and has become synonymous with the number 7 shirt, such as this one, the Portugal jersey Ronaldo wore in the 2024 UEFA European Championships quarterfinal against France, which is expected to fetch over $50,000.  

Unique commissioned Cartier Crash 

“Cartier is renowned worldwide as the king of jewelers and the jeweler of kings,” the auction notes say. “Among their most famous creations is the Crash, the subject of an enduring mystique and cultural relevance.” These watches, with surrealist-inspired warped faces, were only ever produced in small quantities, and this particular model, which is expected to fetch between $130,000 and $260,000, is a true one-off, custom made in 2007 for “a top private client of the Maison.” 

Hermès handbags 

The auction will include several bags from the venerated French luxury fashion house famed for its exclusive handmade products/status symbols. Among them will be this limited edition Jaune de Naples Swift and Osier Wicker Mini Picnic Kelly, which is expected to fetch around $50,000 at auction, as well as “four exquisite Diamond Himalaya Birkin, Himalaya Kellys, and Constance of various sizes,” Sotheby’s says. 

DOHA: Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art houses what could be described as an unlikely find for the Qatar-based institution.

“Le Barde Noir” — “The Black Bard” — is an oil-on-canvas painting by Jean-Leon Gerome, a French painter and sculptor who lived from 1824-1904. Created in 1888, it is as instantly captivating as it must have been when first created.

It features a character often said to be a Nubian musician, wrapped in pink fabric and sitting on a carpet as he stares out intensely. Behind him is an intricately tiled wall in blue hues, while his yellow shoes — similar to North African babouches — are placed neatly to one side.

The work, arguably one of Gerome’s most mesmerizing, bears many hallmarks of the Orientalist style pioneered by European artists in the 18th and 19th centuries that often featured imagined images of the eastern world.  

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by متحف لوسيل (@lusailmuseum)

The concept is explored, pondered and contested in “Seeing Is Believing: The Art and Influence of Gerome.” The exhibition, which runs at the museum until Feb. 22, sheds light on the artist’s legacy — how his art has both positively and adversely influenced depictions of the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia region and continues to do so today.

Gerome was one of the most commercially successful European artists of the 19th century. At the time, he was celebrated as a visual storyteller and historian who brought the faraway lands of Greece, Rome and the East to life through his work.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Mathaf (@mathafmodern)

Ultimately, it would be the artist’s representations of North Africa and the wider Arab world that would constitute his legacy. From 1855 to 1880 he travelled to Egypt, Turkey and other areas to create some of Orientalism’s most poignant and memorable representations.

The show includes almost 400 works of art, many drawn from the forthcoming Lusail Museum’s impressive collection of Orientalist art, including European depictions of the Arab world dating from the 16th to 19th centuries. It also includes major loans from Qatar Museums’ General Collections and institutions worldwide such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Islamic Arts Museum in Malaysia.

The exhibition has been organized as a legacy of the Qatar–France 2020 Year of Culture, a year-long program of collaborations between institutions across both countries. It is jointly produced by the Lusail Museum, which is set to open in 2029, and Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, both in Doha.

It takes an in-depth look at Gerome’s practice and oeuvre through three sections. The first, “A Wider Lens, A New Gerome,” is curated by Emily Weeks and presents some of the artist’s most prominent paintings. “Between Gerome and Photography: Truth is Stranger than Fiction” is curated by Giles Hudson, curator of photographs at the Lusail Museum, and highlights his influence on photography of the Arab world. The final section, “I Swear I Saw That,” is curated by Sara Raza and explores Gerome’s impact on contemporary art.

The third section includes specially commissioned works by artists such as Babi Badalov from Azerbaijan and Nadia Kaabi-Linke from Tunisia, who reinterpret Gerome for the 21st century.

Guest curator Raza told Arab News that the opportunity was a chance “to reassess Gerome’s art within the context of the problems of the larger Orientalist genre and its continuation and manifestation in art and society.”

She said none of the artists in her section were interested in Gerome and added: “However, what they were interested in exploring was Orientalism’s continuation through their own visual languages and the ideas of free appropriation.”