Christie’s is expanding in the Middle East, announcing today that it has been granted a commercial license to operate in Saudi Arabia. It is the first international auction house to establish a permanent presence in the country.

Heading up the firm’s latest location is Nour Kelani, who has been appointed to the newly created role of managing director, Christie’s Saudi Arabia. Based in the capital Riyadh, she will lead Christie’s client services for the fine art and luxury secondary business to “build on long-established clientele in the Kingdom and engage with the next generation of collectors”, according to a release. Kelani previously led operations at Ayyam Gallery in Jeddah and has worked as an adviser to private collections.

When will Christie’s launch in Saudi Arabia?

Christie’s Saudi Arabia will open “as soon as possible” according to a spokesperson, though a date is not yet confirmed. Its operations will include hosting exhibitions and private sales, as well as “supporting cultural regional events within the Kingdom, with regular international touring highlights from important auctions into the Kingdom for the public and clients to view,” they continue, adding, “we are open to exploring opportunities for expanding our offering in Saudi Arabia. At Christie’s, we are committed to staying responsive to emerging markets and continuously evolving.”

This is the auction house’s second location in the Gulf, following the 2005 launch of Christie’s Dubai. Its Saudi Arabia branch will focus on Modern and contemporary Middle Eastern art, as well as jewellery and time pieces. Fine wine and spirits will not be offered, as per the restrictions on the sale of alcohol in the country.

Why Saudi Arabia?

Saudi Arabia is home to a mushrooming number of private and public collections, as well as biennials and institutions opening under the state’s transformational Vision 2030 culture project.

Notably, Christie’s achieved the record for a work of art at auction when it sold the Salvator Mundi to Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince and prime minister of Saudi Arabia, via a third party bidder, also from Saudi Arabia. And in 2011, the house achieved the auction record for a Saudi Arabian artist, selling Abdulnasser Gharem’s copper and wood installation work Message/Messenger (2010) in Dubai for $842,500.

Beyond those headline figures, the kingdom is also home to a cohort of moneyed millennials that signals the potential for a strong middle market. Christie’s president of Europe, Middle East and Africa, Anthea Peers, tells Arab News in an interview announcing the Saudi Arabia branch: “Bearing in mind the high percentage of millennials in the Kingdom, it’s likely we will also continue to see an increase in engagement among this demographic for Arab artists, modern and contemporary art, as well as engagement with the secondary luxury sector.”