More than seventy works from across the Middle East and North Africa will go under the hammer at The Abu Dhabi Edition this November.

Christie’s will hold its first fine-art auction in Abu Dhabi on November 1, bringing together more than seventy works by artists from across the Middle East and North Africa. Titled Mawasim: 20 Years of Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art, the sale will take place at The Abu Dhabi Edition, spanning more than six decades of artistic practice across the region. The auction also marks two decades since Christie’s first entered the UAE market with its inaugural sale in Dubai in 2006.

The timing places the auction at the centre of a particularly active moment for the capital’s cultural calendar. It arrives just weeks ahead of the inaugural Frieze Abu Dhabi, taking place from November 19 to 22, and the opening of Guggenheim Abu Dhabi on December 11, adding another major event to a season already bringing new art institutions, galleries and international collectors to the city.

The selection draws on major regional names and established collections. Paul Guiragossian’s 1958–1959 painting Noces (Wedding) leads the sale with an estimate of $300,000 to $500,000, while Samia Halaby’s 1978 work Yesterday carries an estimate of $200,000 to $300,000. Mohammed Melehi’s 1962 canvas A30, from his early “black works” series, is estimated at $100,000 to $150,000. The auction also includes work by Emirati artist Hassan Sharif, alongside pieces by Nabil Nahas and Marwan.

Two established regional collections are contributing directly to the sale. Five works come from the Barjeel Art Foundation in Sharjah, including Nadia Saikali’s 1982 painting Mandala Bleu Nuit, estimated at $30,000 to $50,000. A further eight works are drawn from Beirut’s Dalloul Collection, among them an untitled 1987 work by Egyptian artist Inji Efflatoun, estimated at $40,000 to $60,000. Together, the two collections give the sale a direct connection to established holdings within the region.

Ahead of the Abu Dhabi sale, selected lots will travel through a series of international previews, opening in New York from September 17 to 20, followed by Paris from October 2 to 8 and London from October 8 to 15. The exhibition then opens in Abu Dhabi on October 28 and runs through to the auction on November 1.

The November sale also serves as a reference point for Christie’s future presence in the capital. The auction house has indicated that further Abu Dhabi sales will depend on this auction’s performance and decisions about its wider international calendar, making the November sale an important reference point for how its Abu Dhabi programme develops.