Saudi auction bike
A rare bike was recently sold for SR700 at an auction in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Image Credit: X post

Cairo: A rare bicycle recently came under the hammer at a market well-known for auctioning exotic and antique items in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

A video circulating on social media shows a local auctioneer, clad in the traditional Saudi attire, holding the bicycle and bidding for the highest price. He opened the auction with SR150, but the jumbo cycle eventually reached SR700.

A crowd of potential bidders are seen in the place following the auction. It was not immediately clear when or where the bike put up for sale was manufactured.

The popular souq has seen a string of auctions in recent months.

Last July, a traditional photography camera, reportedly 200 years old, sold for SR400 at an auction at the market. An antique Baghdad-style teapot fetched SR1,120 at an auction at the same market.

Also in July, a social media video showed a wood-framed old television at the centre of an auction at the Riyadh souq. The auction opened with SR460 and the set eventually fetched SR950.

Another reportedly rare teapot fetched SR850 at a March auction. It was not clear how old the vessel was, or what made it particularly rare.

Another video showed an auctioneer putting up for sale a chest for keeping pearls, which fetched SR750.

A rare large coffee pot was, moreover, auctioned off in Riyadh with an opening price of SR7,500. There was no word how much the pot eventually fetched.

The coffee pot, locally known as dalla, is closely linked to hospitality heritage in the Arabian Peninsula.