An Italian white truffle weighing just over 1 kg sold at an auction on Saturday for $200,000.

The auction ran held simultaneously in Rome, London, Abu Dhabi and Macau, auction organisers said.

The 1.08-kg truffle, the largest found in Italy this year, was found on November 21 in the central Molise region.

Sotheby’s has announced its first ever major international auction series in the Middle East will take place on Wednesday, March 18 and Thursday, March 19, 2009 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Doha, Qatar.

Sotheby’s two-day international auction series will include sales of Orientalist Art, Watches, Arab, Iranian and International Contemporary Art. Highlights from all the auctions will be exhibited in the United Arab Emirates in February prior to the sales and will be on pre-sale view at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Doha on March 16 and 17, 2009.

Contemporary Art Sale
The Contemporary Art Sale will include in the region of 50-70 lots of International, Arab and Iranian Contemporary Art and is estimated to realise in excess US$10 million. One of the current highlights of the Arab and Iranian component of the sale will be Mohammad Ehsai’s (b.1939) oil on canvas Eshgh (Love), 2006, in two parts, which is estimated at $150,000-200,000.

Fine Watches Sale
The auction will comprise fine and important watches by all the renowned watchmakers, including IWC, Patek Philippe, Rolex, Breguet, Cartier and Audemars Piguet.

One of the most important highlights in the auction will be a fine and impressive white gold and diamond set minute repeating wristwatch (the total diamond weight is 10.5 carats) which measures 40mm in width, circa 2000, by the maker Breguet. The watch is estimated at US$240,000–440,000.

Another major highlight of the auction will be a magnificent white gold and diamond set bracelet watch (total diamond weight 39 carats), Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, measuring 38mm in width, which is estimated at US$300,000–500,000.

The Orientalist Sale
Sotheby’s Orientalist Sale in Doha will present an impressive showcase of Middle Eastern-inspired works, including important paintings by Rudolf Ernst and Jean Baptist Huysmans.

Bonhams forthcoming sale in Dubai on 24 November will feature a wide range of modern and contemporary works by Middle Eastern, Iranian, Indian and Pakistani artists. Included is a sculpture, “Mountain” made by Turner Prize winning Anish Kapoor, originally commissioned by City of Malm, in Sweden for the Bo01 exhibition.

Bonhams, will host a Collectors’ Motor Car Introduction at the Royal Mirage Hotel, Dubai on Thursday 20th November 2008.

‘This Collectors Motors Cars presentation is aimed at providing new and potential collectors an overview of the classic car market, and provide a rundown on what sort of cars to buy, periods and styles, acquisition costs, running costs and market perceptions,’ explained ames Knight, International Head of Bonhams’ Motoring Department.

Total proceeds of the 59th Distinguished Number Plates Auction organized by the Dubai Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) exceeded Dhs23.5m, led by the number plate E-30, which was sold for Dh4 million, such that the two-digit numbers on offer (E-30 and F-59) topped Dh6m.

Ahmed Bahrozyan, CEO of RTA Licensing Agency, said that the Auction attracted a wide spectrum of bidders from all UAE emirates.

WWA Group, Inc. has announced the successful conclusion of the most recent auction held at WWA Group’s Dubai facility during the period October 18, 19, and 20, 2008. Gross auction sales exceeded US$20.34 million. 1,392 items, was sold to 183 successful bidders.

Actual sale prices for all items sold at our auctions are published for members at www.ironauctions.com. Member registration is free on the site, by clicking on “Auction Results.” Lists of equipment for sale at upcoming WWA Group auctions are updated daily on the site.

www.wwagroup.com

A German court in Munich has suspended the sale of an ancient Iranian relic, belonging to the Elamite civilization, PressTV reported.

The silver cup, which dates backs to around 2,000 BCE and bears cuneiform inscriptions, went under hammer in Munich on June 22, 2007 for over $80,000.

?The German embassy notified the Iranian government about the auction and Iran requested the suspension of the sale,? said Omid Qanami, director of the Legal Department of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHTO).

Archeological studies found that the Elamite cup belonged to Iran and the documents were sent to a court in Munich,? he added.

Owners of Mahboubian Gallery in London have claimed that the relic is part of their collection and had been in the possession of their family since before 1927 in France,? Qanami said.

The suspension of the sale will be effective until more documents proving the Iranian origin of the silver cup are provided.

Sotheby’s, the international art auction house, today announced plans to open an office in Doha in 2008, and to hold its first major international series of auctions in Doha in early 2009.

At a press conference in Doha announcing Sotheby’s future activities in Qatar, Bill Ruprecht, President and Chief Executive of Sotheby’s said “Doha is today a centre of dynamic economic and cultural growth, not only for the region but also internationally. The magnificent Museum of Islamic Art as well as other museums planned for this city are stirring huge excitement around the world and it is a great honour for Sotheby’s to be a part of this dynamism.”

“Our links with Qatar go back almost twenty years when we held pioneering sales for Arab stallions in the USA which attracted great interest from Qatar. Since that time, we have travelled extensively to Qatar and have developed close relationships here. We have also held very successful charity sales in Doha, one in 2005 and one in 2006, each of which achieved the record for a charity auction in the region. Our announcement today is the beginning of an exciting new phase in a long and much valued relationship and we look forward to our future in Doha with enormous enthusiasm.”

The announcement coincided with the first day of an exhibition at the Ritz Carlton hotel in Doha of Impressionist & Modern Art, International Contemporary Art, Modern & Contemporary Arab and Iranian Art and Orientalist Art as well as Jewellery and Watches, from Sotheby’s upcoming auctions.

Bidz.com, a leading online retailer of jewelry, announced today the launch of a complete Arabic-language version of its online auction site, Bidz.com. This version of the Web site can be accessed by clicking the “Arabic” banner on the Company’s homepage, www.bidz.com. The Company has also hired Arabic speaking marketing personnel to better assist the new clientele.

The Arabic-language site is geared to Arabic-speakers, of which there are over 400 million worldwide. It is expected that the majority of sales conducted in Arabic will come from the Middle East, which includes two countries, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, that already rank in Bidz.com’s top ten countries by sales. The Company will utilize both internet and traditional advertising in the Middle East to publicize its Arabic translation.

Bidz.com derives approximately 25% of its revenue from outside the U.S., and international revenue grew 56% in the second quarter of 2008. The Arabic-language site is the second in a series of non-English sites, which will seek to tap into the auction site’s attractiveness around the world and will diversify the company’s revenue stream. The Company successfully launched a Spanish language version of its online auction site in May of 2008.

Christie’s, have announced their fifth auction of International Modern and Contemporary Art in Dubai which will take place on 30 October 2008 and which will offer the strongest and most important selection of works to date in the region. The auction will present 157 exceptional paintings and sculptures from the leading artists of the UAE, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Algeria, Turkey, Europe and the United States. The auction will take place at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel and is expected to realise US$12 million to US$18 million.

A leading highlight of the auction is Triptych (La passion avec croix, ame et bagages, and triangle bigames), a huge and spectacular triptych by the Algerian artist Rachid Koraichi (b.1947) whose work was exhibited at the Venice Biennale in 2001 and at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2006 illustrated above. Painted in 1985 and 1986, this masterpiece represents the most important work by the artist to be offered at auction and is expected to realise US$400,000 to $600,000 / AED 1,500,000 to 2,000,000.

The auction will also offer two of the most important works by Fateh Moudarres (Syrian, 1922-1999) to appear on the open market. Untitled is an extraordinary picture which is offered from the Collection of Adonis, the celebrated Syrian-Lebanese poet and a pioneer of modern Arabic literature in whose house the work was painted (estimate: US$150,000 to $200,000 / UAE 560,000 to 740,000). Executed in 1967, shortly after the end of the Arab-Israeli war, this work dates to a watershed period in the artist’s career during which his work began to take on political themes. Achtar, 1983, represents the Assyrian mother goddess and is painted on a grand scale measuring 180 x 140 cm. It is expected to realise US$120,000 to $160,000 / UAE 450,000 to 590,000.