LONDON: Ahead of its “Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds including Rugs and Carpets” auction here on May 1, Christie’s experts recently shared insights with Arab News about the rare lots going under the hammer. 

Sara Plumbly, director and head of the Islamic and Indian art department, highlighted an illuminated Kufic Qur’an folio, likely from Damascus, Umayyad Syria, dated to the 8th or 9th century.

“This Surah Al-Baqarah … is very early on in the Qur’an (chapter two titled ‘The Cow’), and you have this wonderful illuminated border. While you often see a line or two thick — here you have this hugely complicated border with beautiful colors.”

Although several illuminated Kufic manuscripts were produced, there were few survivors and generally fragmentary, since their placement at the front of a manuscript meant that they were more exposed to wear and tear, according to Christie’s website.

A collection of 11th century Fatimid gold jewelry caught the eye, to which Plumbly commented: “Jewellery of this type very rarely comes on the market.

“I think one of the reasons is that they are made of gold which is quite fragile and malleable and also, because it is such a precious material, gold is often melted down and used for other objects through the course of history, so it doesn’t survive in great quantities.”

At the pre-sale press exhibition in London, there was also a striking Iznik pottery dish from Ottoman Turkiye, circa 1585-1590. This was complete with bole red, cobalt blue, green and black accents, as well as saz leaves and pomegranates against a background of dense black scrolls.

Louise Broadhurst, director and international head of the department of rugs and carpets, pointed to The Hans Konig Collection of Classical Chinese Carpets.

There was a magnificent Imperial Ming “Qi” Dragon Palace carpet dating from the Wanli period, circa 1575-1600.

“It is one of just seven complete Dragon carpets that remain outside of China,” she explained.

“It  would have originally been red in color, woven with a Brazilwood dye which at the time emulated the red that was the Imperial color of the emperor but sadly with time it faded quite rapidly to this sandy yellow color that we see today.

“It displays the ‘Qi’ dragon —a juvenile dragon in a naturalistic life form with cloud-like body, symbolic of an energetic life force. It’s married with the peony which is another symbol for beauty. It would imbue all of the powers that the emperor wanted.”

The live auction is at Christie’s London headquarters with 129 lots set to go under the hammer.

ABU DHABI: Ben Ross, CEO of Image Nation Abu Dhabi, joined Kazakh-Russian film director and producer Timur Bekmambetov on Tuesday at the Culture Summit Abu Dhabi to discuss screenlife, a pioneering format developed by Bekmambetov that is coming to the region for the first time.

Screenlife is a style of filmmaking where the entire story takes place on a digital screen — through text messages, video calls, social media and other everyday apps — reflecting how people communicate in today’s tech-driven world. Notable examples include the horror film “Unfriended” (2014) and the mystery thriller “Searching” (2018).

In the session, Ross and Bekmambetov announced that they have selected eight stories from UAE filmmakers to bring to life after the launch of the Screenlife Program in June 2024, which aims to help UAE citizens and residents master this new format and create authentic narratives with global resonance.

“We were drawn to it because it is so innovative and so forward-thinking,” Ross told Arab News. “We enjoyed the screenlife movies, and it just felt like a natural step to evolve it into this region.”

Bekmambetov emphasized the universality of digital communication. “The digital world is the same universally. There is a different cultural element … but every family has a WhatsApp chat with hundreds of people on it. My family in Kazakhstan have one, and the internet in Abu Dhabi is the same,” he told Arab News.

He said that the format is “socially very impactful” and can give voice to those often left out of traditional cinema. “Because it costs nothing, you can tell stories about your individual life with no money. It will help us to engage very different storytellers.”

Ross noted that the selected projects reflect a wide range of stories. “Every story that we have chosen ... stood out in its own way. There’s a huge variety being told — it’s not formulaic.”

Bekmambetov also noted that Muslim women lead very different lifestyles, saying, “maybe screenlife will bring their stories to life,” to which Ross added that some of the stories currently in development already do.