Today's Edition
ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)
Sotheby’s will bring more than $1 billion worth of fine art and luxury objects to Abu Dhabi for its inaugural Collectors’ Week, a landmark four-day programme of exhibitions, auctions and cultural events being held from December 2 to 5 at The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort.
Staged in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office, the event marks Sotheby’s most expansive showcase ever in the Middle East, combining major auctions, private-sale masterworks and museum-quality exhibitions.
Charles F. Stewart, Sotheby’s Chief Executive Officer, said the launch of Collectors’ Week reflects the auction house’s deepening commitment to the region, noting that the UAE has “rapidly become a global centre for art, luxury and culture”, and that Sotheby’s is proud to present a world-class lineup of auctions, talks and masterclasses in Abu Dhabi.
Josh Pullan, Global Head of Sotheby’s Luxury Division, added that the company has assembled an “unprecedented suite of offerings” across its luxury portfolio, and that the momentum of Abu Dhabi’s cultural landscape, strengthened by young collectors and long-term development plans, aligns naturally with Sotheby’s expansion.
Across five live auctions on December 5, Sotheby’s will present $150 million in luxury items, including three McLaren Racing cars spanning Formula 1, IndyCar and endurance racing, with one exceptional lot offering bidders the chance to acquire a 2026 Formula 1 team car—months before its public unveiling—complete with exclusive access to McLaren Racing operations.
Other headline lots include Jane Birkin’s one-of-a-kind Hermès Birkin “Le Voyageur,” the world’s largest Fancy Vivid Orangy Pink diamond, the first complete Patek Philippe Star Caliber 2000 ever offered at auction, rare Colnago racing bicycles, and two major real-estate opportunities in France and Austria.
An additional $100 million worth of rare diamonds, gemstones, watches, and handbags will be available through private sale, including the world’s largest flawless diamond and the world’s largest deep green diamond.
Fine art takes centre stage in a parallel exhibition that brings to Abu Dhabi one of the greatest Rembrandt drawings ever to appear at auction, Young Lion Resting, valued between $15 million and $20 million.
The non-selling fine-art exhibition “Icons: Abu Dhabi” will showcase seminal works sold through Sotheby’s over the past six decades, including Banksy’s self-shredding Girl Without Balloon, Gustav Klimt’s Lady with a Fan—the artist’s likely final portrait—Piet Mondrian’s Composition No. II, Jane Birkin’s original Hermès Birkin, and the Guennol Lioness, the most valuable ancient artefact ever sold at auction.
Gregory Rubinstein, Sotheby’s Worldwide Head of Old Master Drawings, said Rembrandt’s Young Lion Resting embodies “an immediacy and intimacy” that reveals the artist’s unmatched draughtsmanship.
RM Sotheby’s will also make its Abu Dhabi debut with a high-profile auction of 32 collector cars valued at more than $78 million, including the first-ever offering of three as-yet-unveiled McLaren competition cars, a 1994 McLaren F1 estimated above $21 million, a Gordon Murray T.50 valued above $5 million, and the exhibition of a rare 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR racing sports car on loan from the Mercedes-Benz Museum.
Complementing the exhibitions and auctions, Collectors’ Week will host more than a dozen talks and panels featuring leading international voices including Diana Picasso, Batia Ofer, and prominent regional collectors.
Daily masterclasses led by Sotheby’s specialists will explore jewellery craftsmanship, handbag collecting, and the nuances of provenance.
Jean-Luc Berrebi, a Sotheby’s board member involved in expanding the company’s collaborations in the UAE, said Abu Dhabi represents “a powerful convergence of visionary ambitions, limitless opportunities, and cultural vibrancy,” adding that this inaugural edition deepens Sotheby’s long-standing regional relationships.
Noora Al Foulathi, Head of Abu Dhabi Retail, said hosting Collectors’ Week underscores Abu Dhabi’s emergence as a global destination for rare and exceptional objects, with the unveiling of items - such as the world’s largest flawless diamond, and McLaren’s future F1 concept - reflecting the trust placed in the city as a stage for world-class cultural events. She noted that the partnership with Sotheby’s positions Abu Dhabi as the new “Capital of Collectibles”, and strengthens connections between the global collecting community and the region.
