The Abu Dhabi Police has announced that the 10th auction of distinguished plates’ numbers will take a place on June 7 at 3.30 pm.

According to Lt. Col. Abdul Rahman Mohammad Ali Al Kamali, Director of the Privatisation and Investment Department at the ADP GHQ, number 14 will be the main number in the auction.

The other lot of distinguished new plate numbers which will go under hummer at the auction include two-digit numbers e.g. “92″ and “89″, 38 three-digit numbers such as “192″, “266″, “407″, and “740″, 30 four-digit numbers such as “1144″, “2224″, “3737″, and “2003″, and 29 five-digit numbers such as “14141″, “22228″, “32000″ and “44446″.

Emirates Auction holds the record for the top ten most expensive license plates sold worldwide, after Plate 9 sold for a record Dh15.4 million at Saturday’s auction in Abu Dhabi.

“We now dominate the Top Ten chart after bumping off Hong Kong’s six-million-dirham Plate 9,” announced Abdulla Matar Al Mannaei, Managing Director of Emirates Auction, which organizes the Code 5 license plate auctions on behalf of the General Directorate of Abu Dhabi Police.

Emirates Auction sold the most expensive license plate in the world - Dh52.2 million Plate “1″ - at its Feb. 16 auction. At Dh15.4 million, Plate 9 now ranks in third place, after Plate 6 which sold for Dh15.2million. Number “9″ was the fifth single-digit number to go under the hammer, and beat out Plate “6″ (Dh15 million) and Plate “7″ (Dh11 million), despite being a higher number.

At Saturday’s auction, held at Emirates Palace Hotel, Plate 29 sold for Dh 4million, Plate 87 for Dh2.45 million, and Plates 93 and 52 for Dh2.2 million each. Rounding out the list of million-dollar-plus plates was Plate 300, at Dh1.08 million. “The strong interest and the increasing prices are proof that license plates continue to be a great investment,” said Mannaei.

Christie’s fourth auction of International Modern and Contemporary Art held in Dubai tonight (30 April 2008) sold for a total of $20,062,850/ AED 73,630,660 / €12,952,576, bringing the collective total for sales this week to $40,142,150 / AED 147,321,691 /€25,915,772. The results demonstrate the quality and rarity of the works which were offered for sale as well as the incredible strength and vibrancy of the Middle East art market, and Christie’s dominant position within it. The top lot of the sale was Parviz Tanavoli’s The Wall (Oh Persepolis) which realized $2,841,000/ AED 10,426,470 / €1,038,771 - a new world record price for any Iranian artist at auction, more than doubling the previous record. In total, the auction established 71 new world record prices at auction.

An auction organised by Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority for 57 special registration plates has fetched over $9.8m. Plate number 50 G fetched the highest bid, going for $926,000. A similar auction in Abu Dhabi in February saw plate number 1 fetch over $14.2m.

Christie’s took over $20 million at its fourth auction in Dubai. Most of the works were by Arab and Iranian artists, with six works by Iranian artists dominating seven of the top lots.

Iranian artist Parviz Tanavaoli’s The Wall (Oh Persepolis), a nearly 6-foot-high bronze sculpture covered in hieroglyphics, broke the auction record for a Middle Eastern artist, going for $2.84 million. Tchaar-Bagh, an oil-and-acrylic calligraphic work by Charles Hossein Zenderoudi, went for $1.6 million, setting the new record for a modern Middle Eastern painting. The most expensive Arab work was Meditations on Three Themes from Sura Ya’ Sin by Ahmed Moustafa, which sold for $421,000 against a high estimate of $400,000.

“Christie’s continue to drive and dominate the market for contemporary Middle Eastern and Iranian art, and this evening’s auction was another landmark event for the art market in the region,” the auction house’s International Modern and Contemporary Art specialist and head of sale, William Lawrie, said in a statement.

The evening auction followed Tuesday’s Jewels and Watches auction; together, the two events grossed more than $40 million, far exceeding the London-based auction house’s expectations

Buyers from the Middle East and Iran accounted for 77 percent of the total sales; 84 percent of the lots sold.

An antique necklace made up of 1,888 pearls, that once belonged to Umm Kulthoum was sold Tuesday for more than $1 million at an auction in Dubai.

Christie’s Dubai branch said an anonymous buyer from the Middle East bought the nine-strand necklace that belonged to the singer for $1,385,000 – more than 10 times the price expected by Christie’s.

The necklace was one of the few valuables the Egyptian-born singer kept. As a champion of many humanitarian causes and caretaker of the poor, she gave most of her wealth away during her lifetime.

The diva’s descendants had offered the necklace for sale. It was Umm Kulthoum’s favorite piece of jewelry, one she wore only for special occasions and never while performing on stage.

Umm Kulthoum was famous for her emotive songs that continue to transfix audiences across the Arab world, 30 years after her death. She was also adored by ordinary people and heads of state alike both for her voice and her pursuit of humanitarian causes across the Middle East.

Christie’s fourth sale of International Modern & Contemporary Art, to be staged in Dubai on 30 April 2008, includes a carefully curated section of 30 works by some of the most exciting international and Western artists including Andy Warhol, Robert Indiana and Anish Kapoor, which span several important periods. With estimates ranging from $10,000 to $1 million, the international and Western art pieces are collectively expected to fetch in excess of $3 million. This auction follows Christie’s third sale of Contemporary Jewels and Watches in Dubai, to be held at the on 29 April 2008

Since May 2006, Christie’s three groundbreaking sales of International Modern and Contemporary Art have brought international and Western works of art to the Middle East that were previously not available to clients in the region. Christie’s remains the only auction house to offer Western and international art in the Middle East, and the extremely strong results to date indicate the huge appetite for this art in the GCC and beyond,” said Dina Amin, International and Western Art Specialist for the sale.

We are delighted to have established a sponsoring partnership with Credit Suisse who is supporting the events around the auction for the third time”, said Michael Jeha, Managing Director, Middle East. “With the backing of Credit Suisse as one of the leading global providers of financial products and services in Investment Banking, Private Banking, and Asset Management, Christie’s is proud to present our most exciting sale yet.”

Highlighting the international and Western section of the sale is Robert Indiana’s (b. 1928) iconic work Love, 1966-1999 (estimate: $1,000,000-1,500,000) from his acclaimed LOVE series. Indiana created his first LOVE sculpture in 1966 in an edition of six and the works were quickly purchased by museum collections. He continued creating small editions of LOVE works in aluminum, Cor-ten steel, bronze and stainless steel and the present example, conceived in 1966 and executed in 1999, is made from polychromed aluminium. Christie’s holds the world record for a LOVE sculpture sold at auction, $3,513,000 achieved at Christie’s New York in November 2007.

Andy Warhol’s (1928-1987) global appeal to people of all ages and cultures makes his works of art extremely collectable. His prices have been rising steadily over the past ten years in an industry where continuous demand for iconic works outstrips supply. Christie’s sale boasts a number of superb examples including a unique Dollar Sign, 1982 (estimate: $100,000-150,000) and Shoes, a classic Warhol image on screenprint with diamond dust (estimate: $60,000-80,000), executed in 1980.

Completing the international and Western section of the sale is Anish Kapoor’s (b. 1954) ethereal and luminescent Untitled, 2000 an acrylic and gouache on paper executed in 2000 (estimate: $30,000-50,000) and a grouping of works by Shirin Neshat’s (b. 1957) highlighted by her captivating Whispers, 1997 (estimate: $80,000-120,000).

These exciting works are offered as part of the International Modern and Contemporary Art sale, a 198 lot auction which is expected to fetch in the region of $11 million. The sale will be characterized by an outstanding selection of large scale and rare works by sought-after Arab and Iranian artists than ever previously offered in the Middle East region and beyond, as well as these superb international and Western art works.

Once again Christie’s LIVE™ will enable collectors and interested parties around the Middle East and the world to enjoy the look, sound and feel of this exciting sale in Dubai from their personal computer, as well as participate in them,” concluded Michael Jeha, Managing Director, Middle East.

Christie’s auction of International Modern and Contemporary Art will be conducted at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel on 30 April 2008 at 6.30pm.

Christie’s sale of Contemporary Jewels and Watches takes place at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel on 29 April 2008 at 6:30pm.

Viewing is open to the public from 2pm on 27 April 2008 onwards.

A late 12th-century iron key to the Ka’aba in Makkah sold for £9.2mn ($18.1mn) with fees, about 20 times its estimated price, at Sotheby’s in London yesterday. it had been estimated to sell for £400,000 to £600,000.

The key, which is 37cms (15in) long, was formerly in a private collection in the Lebanon and dated from 1179-1180. It was bought anonymously and is the second-earliest of only 58 known examples. Others are in European and Middle Eastern museums.

Sotheby’s said the sale raised a total of £21.5mn with fees, which was a record for an Islamic-art sale by the auction house.

A 14th-century gold and enamel belt buckle from Moorish Spain sold for £983,700 after commission to a telephone bidder. It had been estimated to fetch more than £600,000.
Christie’s also took £11.8mn in an auction yesterday. A leaf from a 7th-century copy of the Qur’an on vellum fetched a record £2.5mn ($4.92mn) with fees against an estimate of £100,000-£150,000, setting a new world auction record for any Islamic manuscript.

A selection of stunningly decorated horse and camel saddles from Persia, China and India will be sold on April 10 at Bonhams in the single owner Jacques Desenfans Collection of Arms and Armour from the Middle and Far East.

The saddles are small by today’s standard but with decoration that no modern saddle can hope to match. They are cultural and historic artefacts that speak silently of heraldry and vast open spaces. Some of them may have been used on historic occasions or on key routes between the Far East and Western Europe.

Kristina Sanne, a Bonhams specialist from the Indian and Islamic Department says: “These are as much saddles as works of art. One would not dream of using them today but as items of interest and talking points they are unbeatable, especially for anyone with an interest in equestrian sports.”

Lot 103 is a rare Ming gilt bronze and wooden saddle from 17th Century China or Tibet. It has an upright square pommel and a velvet-covered seat. The front of the pommel and back of the saddle feature bronze and gilt bronze openwork depicting dragons and scrolling foliage. It is estimated to sell for £2,000-3,000.

Lot 105 Is a cloisonné-mounted wooden saddle and leather bridle from China, circa 1800. The saddle has a wide pommel and padded seat, its brass contours with cloisonné enamel decoration depicting undulating floral vines. The leather bridle is mounted with cloisonné brass plaques, including the martingale. Estimate £1,500-2,000.

Lot 205 an ivory-mounted wooden saddle probably from19th Century Bukhara, with the ivory pommel in the form of a lion’s head, the contours overlaid with ivory plaques set with turquoises, a padded seat, with stirrup straps. Estimate £1,500-2,000

Saddles of this age a rarity seldom come to market and as such they provide an opportunity to buy something very special.

The number plates auction last Saturday in Dubai raised Dh40.954 million ($11.15 million), setting a new record for the auctions.

Fierce bidding at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel lasted up to the last minute of the sale, where the coveted two, three, four and five-digit number plates in the categories E, F and G were sold.

Number plates 43 and 61 in category G topped the list and each of them was sold for Dh2.3m ($630,000).