Auctioneers Bonhams is excited about its first Middle East auction, officially the Modern & Contemporary Arab, Iranian, Indian & Pakistani Art auction, to be held in the newest of the global art nerve centres, Dubai, on March 3. And playing a major role in providing a spurt to this volatile region?s art mart are works by a number of leading Indian artists.
?Dubai is definitely emerging as a favourite destination for art lovers, especially from the region,? says Mehreen Rizvi-Khursheed, consultant, Contemporary Paintings, Bonhams. Pointing out that the oil-rich confederation of United Arab Emirates (UAE) is just one-and-half-hour away from Karachi and Mumbai, she says that many in this sheikdom are willing to invest their petro dollars in art, and are also beginning to invest in real estate in the region and make it a second home.
The taste is slanted towards Islamic and Arab works, but as Rizvi-Khursheed points out, art from Iran, Pakistan and India are very much in demand too. ?Of the 136 lots at the auction, there are 23 works by Indian artist including FN Souza, J Swaminathan, Jamini Roy, KK Hebbar, Ram Kumar, Paritosh Sen and other major artists,? she says. ?The works are from private collections and we expect them to do very well.? Indian works in this auction include FN Souza?s The Elder (base price $240,000-300,000) and J Swaminathan Untitled (base price $250,000-350,000), the highest in the auction. Of the works with a base price of over $100,000, most are by artists from India.
However, Bonhams is not yet planning an expansion in its presence in India, despite art from the region doing very well for the auctioneers globally, she says. ?The demand for art has been shooting up in the region?, says Rizvi-Khursheed, who earlier worked with auctioneers Sotheby?s extensively in the region. ?The Arab market is still about two to three years behind the Indian market, but with an adequate number of patrons, ease and accessibility, the traditional trade depot has the potential to be the hub for art in the region,? she says. She also informs that the top Arab work has been sold for $6,50,000, nearly a million dollars below the record for a sale of an Indian work.
Works at the auction are also drawn from Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco and even Sri Lanka. The auction will also have a separate, extensive section on jewellery and watches.