Dubai: The success of the recent art auctions held by Christie's and Bonhams has demonstrated the region's increased interest in buying, collecting and investing in art.
Christie's latest auction in contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish art and jewellery proved a triumph, breaking 42 world auction records.
"The solid results for both the art and the jewellery sales are an indication that the art market in the Middle East continues to mature and attract an increasingly international and local following," said Michael Jeha, managing director of Christie's Middle East.
Smaller, focused collection
According to Isabelle de la Bruyere, director at Christie's ME, this year they purposely selected a smaller but focused collection for this year's sale which achieved very solid results.
"We reported a 40 per cent increase in registered bidders in the sales room alone, which shows the increased interest from the region towards Christie's and in particular for Middle Eastern art," she said.
Bonhams, which recently held its seventh auction in the region comprising Orientalist art and its first dedicated photography sale in Dubai, also reported strong results.
Increased bidding
"We saw good results and increased levels of competitive bidding across the estimate range. With the addition of online live bidding this year we saw even wider participation from international collectors than we have previously experienced," said Jonathan Horwich, Global Director of the Picture Department at Bonhams.
According to William Lawrie, director of Lawrie Shabibi Art gallery, the rise of these auction houses in the region plays an integral part in promoting the art market to potential investors.
"These auctions have been absolutely essential to the idea of investing in art in the Middle East market. The auctions almost provide a data base at which to measure the prices. This is because all good prices go online within an hour of the auction taking place, which means the people who are watching the trends can look at the artist and look at the work and predict prices. In terms of investment people want to see trends, they want to see results which they can measure, which is why auctions are absolutely critical," he said.
Growing interest
The two internationally renowned auction houses entered the UAE market relatively recently: Bonhams in 2007 and Christie's in 2005. Since then the auctions have gained a steadily growing recognition reflected by their sales.
In 2010, Dubai was Christie's fastest growing sales centre with a 153 per cent increase over the previous year.
"The regional art market has rapidly transformed before our eyes. You only have to look at the catalogue for our Middle Eastern art sale on April 19 and compare it with our first sale catalogue in 2006 to appreciate how the quality of the works has developed with each sale season. The pool of collectors interested in bidding in the sales has expanded too and in 2010, bidders in Christie's Dubai sales came from 25 countries," said Jeha.
Video: Christie's auction in Dubai
Photography
On the back of growing interest, Bonhams has introduced new categories to its auctions each year. This year has been the first time Bonhams has introduced an auction dedicated to photography.
"We've seen photography sales growing strongly within our modern contemporary Middle Eastern sales. Photography has done well here. It's been a successful part of the sales we've had over the last three years," Guy Vesey, Bonhams' regional director for the Middle East, told Gulf News.
"Photography is also a good starting point because it's more accessible, more affordable. I'm hoping to attract a newer, younger crowd. I'm asking investment houses to talk to their staff and attract people who hadn't thought about buying from an auction before," he said.
Supporting this growing recognition is the growth of commercial art galleries around Dubai. Since 2006, the art scene has developed drastically from five galleries to over 60 and several cultural institutions.
"Dubai is the centre of the art market here. It has a higher concentration of world class commercial galleries than anywhere else in the region. It has more active collectors than any other city in the region," said Lawrie.
In a bid to encourage investors to look at art as a tangible asset, Emirates NBD recently announced it was teaming up with the British based Fine Art Fund Group (FAFG) to offer advice on art investments to high-net-worth-individuals (HNWI).
Founded in 2001 by Philip Hoffman, a former director of Christie's, FAFG owns a series of investment funds that have outperformed traditional stock market vehicles by speculating on works of art.
"Middle East investors are expressing greater interest in art, and recent estimates show that last year approximately 25 per cent by value of the 100,000 plus works of art sold went to buyers from Russia, Asia and the Middle East," said Gary Dugan, Acting General Manager and Chief Investment Officer of Private Banking at Emirates NBD.
Antiques still flagging, however
However, while art houses continue to do well, antiques still remain a flagging market in the UAE.
"Sales here I wouldn't say are very encouraging. Antiques are not something that are very popular here, it needs a bit of an education," said Ghada Kunash. Managing director of Vindemia Gallery, a shop that specialises in art, collectibles and antiques.
"Auction sales of items coming from the 19th century fell by 10 per cent which is a very big margin to drop," she said.
The most popular items are Islamic antiquities such as silver pots, weaponry and items that bear calligraphy.
"As an investment, antiques are something that require a lot of patience," Kunash said.
