All photos by Chantelle D’mello

A collection of expensive international art pieces, jewelry and work from around the region has gone up on display at Katara Cultural Village ahead of Sotheby’s latest auction in Qatar.

The international auction house, which netted $8 million in sales and broke several records last October, will hold its next contemporary art auction on April 21.

Among the pieces on display for public viewing at the Katara Art Studios (Building 5) is one of the world’s most expensive pieces of jewelry, an 100-carat diamond ring.

The emerald-cut diamond is estimated to cost between US$19 to 25 million.

In addition to the 100-carat diamond, several crowns and tiaras previously owned by Mary, the Duchess of Roxburghe and the Earl of Mar and Kellie are up for auction, along with several Cartier masterpieces.

The latter includes a 25.59 carat extremely rare Burmese ruby set in a Cartier ring. The stone, described as “pigeon-blood” red, is estimated to cost some $12 to $18 million, and is expected to beat the 100-carat diamond’s sale in terms of dollars per carat.

Other jewels, rings, necklaces, and brochures, including a 1920 Cartier Baron de Rothschild necklace made from Kashmiri sapphires and emeralds, and inspired by Mughal architecture, are also on sale.

Artwork

This month’s auction will also contain pieces from several international artists, including American Christopher Wool’s $1 to 1.5 million black and white piece, Untitled.

The bold, graphic painting was created using paint rollers incised with floral designs that were then transferred onto an aluminum canvas.

It is on display along with a large reflective disc by British-Indian sculptor Anish Kapoor’s $800,000 to $1.2 million.

Famous regional artists Shirin Neshat and Ali Banisadr, both of whom broke records at Sotheby’s last sale, are also represented at the upcoming auction.

Iranian-born artist Neshat’s three-channel video installation OverRuled is on display, appraised at $80,000 to $230,000, along with Banisadr’s The Shrine, valued between $100,000 to $150,000.

Of the more intricate pieces is Dump Truck by Wim Delvoye, a Belgian neo-conceptual artist.

The everyday dump truck is reimagined as a scaled lasercut stainless steel moving gothic cathedral, complete with ornate windows, buttresses and spires, and is expected to fetch between $100,000 to $150,000 at the upcoming auction.

Also on display is a piece by Qatari artist Yousef Ahmed, whose exhibition Story of Ingenuity is currently open at the nearby Qatar Museums gallery adjacent to the Katara amphitheatre.

His piece, The Emergence of the Letter, which features hundreds of tightly coiled palm leaf paper scrolls, is estimated to sell for $20,000 to $30,000.

Another notable piece on display is Egyptian artist Chant Avedissian’s $180,000 to $250,000 work Icons of the Nile.

The work, featuring famous Egyptian poets, artists and politicians in pop-icon-like renditions, is an abridged version of Avedissian’s larger 120-part work, created between 1991 to 2010, which sold at a Sotheby’s exhibition two years ago for $1.6 million.

The display will be open to the public until the auction on April 21. Thoughts?