BARGAIN HUNT IN ABRAAJ’S ART SELL-OFF
▶ All 200 works from stricken Dubai-based private equity company were sold over two days of bidding, but at knockdown prices, reports Paul Peachey in London
Amid the wreckage of the stricken Abraaj Group, there were bargains to be had. After the Dubai-based private equity company’s dramatic collapse this year, its corporate art collection was sold off in London in a two-day everything-must-go fire sale.
The collection – amassed during the boom years of the early 2000s – was put up for sale by liquidators seeking to settle debts of up to $1 billion (Dh3.67bn) by Abraaj, which fell apart amid allegations of misuse of investors’ funds.
The sale symbolised the rapid and dramatic downfall of the Dubai-based company that once had assets worth $14bn (Dh51bn) under its control and attracted investors such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the United States government.
The sell-off of 200 pieces on Tuesday and Wednesday raised £4.5 million (Dh21.2m) over three auctions – a result described as “spectacular” by auction house Bonhams – but which barely dented the debt.
Another 12 works were sold by auction house Christie’s for £900,000 (Dh4.2m) on Wednesday that were listed as “property from a distinguished private collection”. Most of those were thought to be once owned by Abraaj chairman Arif Naqvi.
The auction house was also selling other items from the personal collection of Mr Naqvi to key clients, according to art magazine, Apollo. Christie’s declined to comment “due to client confidentiality”.
The works in the Bonhams sale were famous for their “depth and quality” and combined Arab, Iranian and South Asian work with traditional Islamic and Asian art, according to advertising for the sale. Most of the works were offered for auction without reserve prices – below which they would be taken off the market – to ensure they were all sold.
Some sales were markedly down from prices paid a decade ago. He is the Merciful, a calligraphic work by Iranian artist Mohammed Ehsai sold for £320,750 (Dh1.5m) but made more than double that price in Dubai in 2008. Prices for Iranian works have been hit by the continuing diplomatic crisis and international sanctions, which have dented sales.
Nonetheless, bidding was brisk at the sale, with several potential buyers vying for each item in the Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art auction on the phones and in London, said officials.
The highest price secured on Wednesday was £477,000 (Dh2.3m) for a painting by Indian artist Manjit Bawa, featuring a seated woman in traditional Punjabi costume surrounded by dogs.
The work – bought by an anonymous Indian collector – was sold for three times the price that it last secured at auction 12 years ago, according to auction house records. Bonhams will hold a further online sale next month for the remainder of the Abraaj collection.
“It was a great honour to offer this wonderful collection for sale and we are delighted at the results,” said Nima Sagharchi, Bonhams director of Middle Eastern, Islamic and South Asian art. “The Abraaj Collection was well known for its exceptional quality and I am not surprised that collectors took the opportunity to purchase works with such distinguished provenance.”
Sales at Bonhams included £175,000 for Lebanese artist Paul Guiragossian’s Celebrations which was painted in 1990, the last year of the civil war in Lebanon.
“Some were not able to produce any art during the war, but I was painting without stop,” said the artist, who died in 1993. “My war was my painting, my revenge was my colours.”
The top prices were Indian works, including Girl by Francis Souza, which sold for £429,000, and Beej, by Syed Haider Raza, that sold for £345,000.
Works by Indian artists fetched the top prices while reduced bids for Iranian pieces reflected the geopolitical situation