Christie’s | Middle East

Christie’s Middle East

As Christie’s marks our 20th anniversary in the United Arab Emirates, we will continue to celebrate the region’s rich artistic and cultural heritage with a series of special events and exhibitions throughout the year. Our celebrations officially begin in April with a programme of curated lectures, panel talks and extraordinary objects. In the coming months, Christie’s Dubai will showcase an exceptional highlights tour featuring both international and regional categories, masterpieces from Leonard & Louise Riggio: Collected Works, Islamic and Indian art, rugs and carpets, modern and contemporary Middle Eastern art and fine watches, reaffirming our commitment to the region’s vibrant art and luxury scene.

We are also proud to be a leading Public Programming Partner at the second edition of the Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah. This year’s theme, And All That is Between, draws inspiration from the Noble Quran and is open until 25 May. Christie’s specialists will host three engaging events, offering valuable insights into the art world and perspectives on the Biennale, where historical Islamic objects are thoughtfully juxtaposed with contemporary commissioned works.

Stay tuned for more exhibitions and events as we continue to celebrate this milestone year at Christie’s Dubai.

What’s on

Explore what’s happening in the region this season

Programmes at the Islamic Arts Biennale 2025

People at an auction with a person holding a bidding number, set against a backdrop of ornate carpets.

Behind the Scenes of an Auction House

12 May

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Speaker: Sara Plumbly, Christie’s

A two-session programme offering an insider’s perspective on the journey of art through the auction process, providing a unique lens on the Biennale. Participants will engage directly with the practices, stories and expertise that shape the auction house’s pivotal role in the art world.

The Art World Explained

10 February

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Speakers: Ted Sandling, Christie’s Education and Toby Monk, Christie’s

A dynamic two-session programme that untangles the complexities of the art world through hands-on activities and expert-led discussions. Participants will explore connections between the public, private and commercial sectors, while gaining valuable insights into career opportunities within each.

Collecting with Purpose: From Passion to Legacy

14 April

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Speaker: Marie-Claire Thijsen, Christie’s

A two-session programme designed to guide collectors through the art of curating a collection, from early acquisitions to building an enduring cultural legacy. Participants will explore how their vision and values can shape their collection and lead to a lasting imprint, whether public or private.

Islamic Arts Biennale 2025

25 Jan – 25 May 2025

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

The Islamic Arts Biennale 2025 provides a holistic platform for new discourse about Islamic arts, offering an unparalleled space for learning, research and insight. By juxtaposing contemporary and newly commissioned artworks with historical objects from Islamic cultures, the Biennale explores how faith is experienced, expressed, and celebrated through feeling, thinking, and making. It offers a unique platform for artists to explore themes of spirituality, identity and the intersection of past and present, while fostering cross-cultural connections and expanding the global understanding of Islamic art and culture.

In the event that a scheduled speaker is unable to attend due to unforeseen circumstances, Christie’s reserves the right to replace the speaker with an alternative, subject to prior confirmation from the Diriyah Biennale Foundation.

Christie's United Arab Emirates Anniversary

Christie’s celebrates the rich artistic and cultural heritage of the Middle East. For the past 20 years, our stronghold in the United Arab Emirates has allowed us to connect the community with extraordinary works of art and luxury objects. We’re grateful to all who have been and continue to embark on this journey with us.

Contacts

Dr. Ridha Moumni

Chairman, Middle East & Africa

Post-War & Contemporary Art

Dr. Ridha Moumni is a historian of Art and Archaeology, specialising in antiquity and the early and modern art of Tunisia. He holds a PhD in North African Roman Architecture from La Sorbonne University. Former fellow of the French Academy in Rome (Villa Medici), Dr. Moumni was from 2019 to 2021 an Aga Khan Fellow at the Department of Art History at Harvard University and conducted research at Harvard's Center of Middle Eastern Studies. Dr. Moumni joined Christie's in 2021 as a Senior Client Advisor, focusing on the Middle East, before moving into his current role as Chairman of the Middle East and Africa. He has extensive experience in leading cultural projects and curating exhibitions of Middle Eastern art.

Meagan Kelly Horsman

Managing Director Middle East

Meagan Kelly Horsman is the Managing Director of Christies Middle East, having joined the team in May 2022. Based in the UAE since 2010, Meagan has worked in both the primary and secondary market, starting her career at Bonhams, and specialises in modern and contemporary art from the Arab World, North Africa and Iran. Meagan’s extensive experience also includes collection management and development for some of the most important private collections in the region. Meagan has curated numerous exhibitions at institutions across the UAE, delivered short courses relating to the art sector and written for arts publications in the region. Meagan holds a MA in History of Art from the University of Glasgow, Scotland.

Nour Kelani

Managing Director, Saudi Arabia

Nour Kelani is the Managing Director of Christie’s Saudi Arabia, based in Riyadh. Previously, she oversaw operations at Ayyam Gallery in Jeddah, representing contemporary artists from across the Middle East. She also played an instrumental role in bringing the Ayyam Gallery ‘Young Collector’s Auction’ to Saudi Arabia. A high-profile supporter of the evolving contemporary art scene in the Kingdom, Nour has managed her own art and luxury consultancy, having served as an art advisor to numerous private collectors, and consulted on behalf of international luxury brands. In recognition of these contributions among others, she was made a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture.

Arne Everwijn

Director, Business Development, Middle East

Arne Everwijn is Director, Business Development for the Middle East, based in Dubai. Arne joined Christie’s in Amsterdam in 2001 and relocated to the European Art department in London in 2007. In his previous role as Director, European and Orientalist Art in London, he worked on and developed some of the most notable sales in the category. He brought to sale the only known preparatory sketch in oil for Delacroix’s iconic La Liberté guidant le people which achieved £3,128,750, against a presale estimate of £700,000-1,000,000. Next to handling and selling masterpieces from the category, he advised and assisted his clients on acquiring works in a broad array of fields, ranging from Old Masters to Contemporary Art.

Bob Xue

Senior Specialist, Watches

Watches & Wristwatches

In just a matter of five years, Bob Xue has established himself as trusted watch specialist in the global Christie’s team. Bob’s background prior to his watch career is a success story starting from hospitality at The Jumeirah Group -Burj Al Arab-, from where he moved to become a top performing luxury fashion front liner for Giorgio Armani. He then moved to Vacheron Constantin, where he spent four years developing the retail business for the brand in Dubai, prior to his move to the auction world. As the only Mainland Chinese national in the Christie’s Watch Department, Bob has cultivated a well-oiled network of clients and traders building a bridge between the Middle East and China. He is also Yop individual performance in private sales in H1 2022 so far. Bob has in recent years focused on the market of vintage Patek ,Richard Mille and gold Rolex Daytona ‘Paul Newman’ chronographs and has curated several watch collections. Bob is a UAE resident for over 17 years, well blended into the middle eastern culture, he has a soft spot for vintage Rolex Day-Date Stella dial and hopes to build a formidable collection for himself one day.

Jude Alqunaibit

Business Development Associate

Louise Broadhurst

Director, International Head of Department

Rugs & Carpets

Louise’s career at Christie’s began over 25 years ago in 1998. In 2002, she was appointed Junior Specialist in the Rugs and Carpets department where she went on to be made Head of Sale in 2012 and Director and Head of Department in 2014. Following Louise’s extensive years of experience and deep knowledge of the field, she has helped nurture the extraordinary sales and record prices which have greatly contributed to Christie’s dominance in this category. She has been involved with a number of high profile sales including the rare Safavid ‘Vase’ carpets formerly in the collection of Alice de Rothschild in 2016 (over £2.3 million), the Pommersfelden silk and metal-thread Safavid ‘Polonaise’ rugs in 2019 (over £7.5 million), the Imperial Ming ‘Dragon’ carpet which broke a world auction record for a Chinese carpet in Paris in 2019 (6.8 million euros) and the Royal Indian Mughal fragment that broke a further record in 2022 (over £5.4 million). Louise has nurtured strong relationships with established and emerging collectors within her field and during her time as Head of Department, Christie’s now hold eight of the top ten auction records in this field.

Marie-Claire Thijsen

Head of Sale, Associate Specialist

Modern & Contemporary Middle Eastern Art

Marie-Claire is a specialist in the Post-War & Contemporary Art department at Christie’s based between London and Dubai. She is passionate about discovering and promoting emerging and overlooked artists with a particular interest in artists from the Middle East and North Africa. In her role as Head of Sale for Modern & Contemporary Middle Eastern Art, she has contributed to the growth of the category and has helped to give it a contemporary and international profile through successful auctions and private selling exhibitions in London, Dubai and Paris.

Marie-Claire grew up in the Netherlands and speaks fluent Dutch and English, conversational French, and is learning Arabic. Marie-Claire attended Amsterdam University College and holds a BA with a double major in International Relations and Economics and a minor in Art History. She moved to London to complete a MA in Art Business and joined Christie’s in 2015. In the Post-War & Contemporary Department in London she has been working across the Evening, Day and Online sales, gaining a breadth of knowledge of the art market and playing a pivotal role in the consignment and successful sale of various single owner collections including the Jeremy Lancaster Collection, the Le Jeune Collection and most recently the Dalloul Art Collection.

A person with long dark hair wearing a black blazer and white shirt in a grayscale photo.

Sophie Stevens

Head of Jewellery Department, Middle East

Jewellery

Sophie Stevens holds the newly created role of Head of Jewellery for the Middle East.

Sophie provides valuations and advises clients across the Middle East on buying and consigning jewellery through Christie's auction and private sale channels internationally. Sophie has brought numerous multi-million-dollar pieces from the region to international salerooms in Geneva, Hong Kong and New York during her career to date. Sophie joined Christie's with 15 years of experience in the market, working with clients to develop and curate their collections.

Before relocating to Dubai, Sophie was a Jewellery Specialist for Bonhams auction house in London having previously worked for an antique jewellery dealer where she gained her Gemmology and Diamond grading diplomas from the Gemmological Association of Great Britain. Latterly Sophie was Jewellery Specialist, VP, for Sotheby's in the Middle East region since 2017. She lectures and teaches on jewellery and gemmology for clients, luxury brands, industry conferences and corporate institutions. Sophie has also written extensively about the fine jewellery and watches markets for luxury publications in the Middle East including Harper's Bazaar Arabia.

Nitin Nair

Specialist

Watches & Wristwatches

Nitin Nair’s move to Christie’s this year comes on the back of his successful tenure as the launch editor of WatchTime Middle East, the region’s leading watch publication. He spent seven years focused on the niche of luxury watches, creating and curating content as well as organising events for the local collecting community. He was on the jury of WatchStars, an independent international watch awards featuring an international community of watch journalists and has been quoted as a thought leader in international titles like The New York Times. His background as a journalist with more than 18 years of experience across news and men’s luxury lifestyle titles gives him a clear and balanced view of the luxury and collectibles industry. Nitin’s interest in wristwatches is more rooted in academia and horology, given his love for history and literature. He reckons watches and horology sit at the intersection of art, micro-engineering, and history. He has visited manufactures in Switzerland, Germany, and Japan over the years and has covered the auction scene in the Middle over the last seven years. He has consulted with retail brands about engaging with the community and is considered a tastemaker among his peers.

Sara Plumbly

Director, Head of Department

Islamic and Indian Art

Sara Plumbly is Director and Head of the Islamic and Indian Art department at Christie’s King Street. She joined the company in 2006, and has worked on the department’s biannual sales of Islamic art since that time. She has been responsible for the successful King Street sales since that time, including collections such as the Library of the Late Djafar Ghazi and the Private Collection Donated to Benefit the University of Oxford. She has also overseen the sale of several record breaking pieces, including the important early Iznik bowl that sold for £1.4 million in April 2014.

Offices & Representatives

Dubai

Location
Christie’s Dubai
Gate Village, Building 5, Podium Level
Dubai International Financial Centre
Dubai, UAE

Opening hours are from 10am to 7pm on weekdays.

Contacts
clientservicesdubai@christies.com
+971 4375 9004

Riyadh

Nour Kelani
Managing Director, Saudi Arabia
nkelani@christies.com
+966 53 995 6198

Jude Alqunaibit
Business Development Associate
jalqunaibit@christies.com
+966 53 995 6534

Doha

Farah Rahim Ismail
Representative Consultant
frahimismail@christiespartners.com
+974 7731 3615

Jennifer Bishop
Representative Consultant
jbishop@christiespartners.com
+974 3311 6696

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