Sotheby’s will host the first-ever international auction in Saudi Arabia on February 8 2025, the house announced on Thursday.
The exact location of the two-part evening sale has not yet been disclosed but it will be somewhere in the historic town of Diriyah on the outskirts of the capital, Riyadh.
Diriyah is the original home of the Saudi royal family and has a Unesco heritage site.
Artworks by international and Saudi artists – including a diptych from Ahmed Mater’s The Illumination Series – Islamic objects, jewelry, watches, cars, sports memorabilia, and handbags will go under the hammer for the sale, titled “Origins.” It will coincide with Sotheby’s opening an office in the Al Faisaliah Tower in Riyadh, which is the first skyscraper in the country and designed by Norman Foster.
Edward Gibbs, Sotheby’s Middle East & India chairman, told ARTnews that “creativity is at the heart of Saudi Arabia’s future, and it would be fair to say that the country is in the middle of a cultural renaissance.”
“Everything we have witnessed there so far has been incredibly impressive, whether this has been the overwhelmingly enthusiastic uptake to our educational offerings during the biennales, or when we have exhibited material in Saudi as part of travelling exhibitions over the years,” he said. “Having a permanent base on the ground will be transformative in amplifying what we will be able to offer to our existing clients in Saudi, as well as introducing us to the vast and dynamic population who may not yet have come across what we do. Taking into consideration Vision 2030 [a government program aiming for economic, social, and cultural diversity], the museum building projects across the region, as well as the expanding art community, there is a lot for us to explore and build on. We also hope that with this auction, a lot of clients will travel to Saudi, and we are sure they will also be impressed by what they experience.”
“This is a very dynamic time for culture in Saudi Arabia. Sotheby’s has been active in the Kingdom for a number of years now and we’ve witnessed the blossoming of the cultural scene with great interest,” Sotheby’s CEO, Charles F. Stewart, said in a statement. “In committing to a physical presence in Riyadh, we’re supporting the enrichment of the artistic landscape of the country, which will empower the large youth demographic of Saudi.”
Ashkan Baghestani, Sotheby’s head of sale and contemporary art specialist, said the evening sale will “serve as an introduction to our offering and to embody the cross-category spirit we pride ourselves on curating.”
Before the auction, the lots in “Origins” will be displayed in a free public exhibition from February 1 to 8 in Diriyah.
In 2013, Sotheby’s hosted the first ever highlights exhibition in Saudi Arabia by any international auction house, and in 2017 held the first ever charity auction in the Kingdom.
The house’s tilt to the Middle East comes after it opened its long-awaited Maison space in Hong Kong with two non-selling exhibitions in the summer. The 24,000-squar-foot space covers two floors of the Landmark Chater building located in the city’s central business district.
In October, Sotheby’s also unveiled its new Paris HQ in the French capital’s Matignon Saint-Honoré district, where a growing contingent of major galleries have set up shop. Sotheby’s France president, Mario Tavella, said the move reflects Paris’ status as a growing art market hub, with major galleries including Gagosian and White Cube opening new spaces there since 2019.
