Saloua Raouda Choucair Leads Christie's $5.7m Dalloul Collection Sale

A work by Saloua Raouda Choucair was the headline sale at Christie's 'Silsila: Highlights from the Dalloul Collection including Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art' auction on November 6 in London.

• The sale totaled $5.68m (GBP4.37m), exceeding the pre-sale high estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 39 works sold totaling $5.68m.
• Estimates totaled: $3.38m (low) and $4.8m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 98% of the original 40 lots announced.

The star lot was: Saloua Raouda Choucair, Poem (1966), which sold for $512,700, 410% above its $100,500 low estimate. It has been traded once in the past.

The outperformer sold for 434% above its low estimate. Kamal Boullata, Nocturne I (2001), sold for $215,000 ($40,200 low estimate). It has been traded twice in the past.

• 21 works, or 54%, sold above their high estimate.
• 12 works, or 31%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 6 works, or 15%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

6 works were bought-in, including: Jawad Salim, Back Gardens - Camden Town (1947), estimated at $80,400 (low) to $107,200 (high). It has been traded 4 times in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

1 work was withdrawn before the sale: Monir Farmanfarmaian, Untitled (1976) estimated at $107,200 (low) to $160,800 (high).

Terms and definitions

All results include the fees and premiums added to the price of a work of art when the auctioneer's hammer falls. Estimates, sale prices and totals are converted into US dollars. Sale prices are compared to the auction house’s low estimate, which do not include premiums.

Guarantees: Sometimes an auction house guarantees to pay a seller for a work, regardless of whether the bidding reaches the reserve price, a figure that is typically confidential.

Bought-in: If there are no bids for a work, or if bidding falls short of the reserve price, the lot is unsold or “bought-in”.

Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.

Premiums: Typically a sliding-scale of charges paid in addition to the hammer price by the buyer, plus any other fees.