Fines for tampering with electricity meter range between SR5000 and SR100000 New amendments made in Electricity Law    Saudi Arabia deports 8,051 illegal residents in a week    Saudi Arabia is among world's top donors with assistance worth SR528 billion    GCC – Japan negotiations make progress in sealing free trade agreement    Inzaghi hails Al Hilal's fearless Club World Cup run    UNRWA calls for urgent fuel delivery to Gaza to prevent shutdown of basic services    Syria rules out foreign borrowing as central bank hails post-Assad recovery    Pakistan army kills 30 militants in cross-border clash near Afghanistan    State of emergency declared in Crete after wildfire devastates Ierapetra    OPEC+ further accelerates oil output hike by 548,000 bpd in August    Football world mourns Diogo Jota and brother André Silva at funeral in Portugal    Al Hilal exit Club World Cup after narrow defeat to Fluminense    Saudi Arabia tops global ICT Development Index for 2025    Hotel occupancy in Saudi Arabia rises to 63% as tourism workforce tops 983,000 in Q1 2025    Alkhorayef Commercial Company partners with XSQUARE Technologies to elevate logistics automation in Saudi Arabia    Portugal and Liverpool FC winger Diogo Jota dies in car accident in Spain    Michael Madsen, actor of 'Kill Bill' and 'Reservoir Dogs' fame, dead at 67    BTS are back: K-pop band confirm new album and tour    Michelin Guide launches in Saudi Arabia with phased rollout in 2025    'How fragile we are': Roskilde Festival tragedy remembered 25 years on    Sholay: Bollywood epic roars back to big screen after 50 years with new ending    Ministry launches online booking for slaughterhouses on eve of Eid Al-Adha    Shah Rukh Khan makes Met Gala debut in Sabyasachi    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Ka'aba key fetches $18.1m in auction
Reuters
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 11 - 04 - 2008

A 12 century key to the Ka'aba sold for £9.2 million ($18.1 million) late Wednesday, setting a new record for an Islamic work of art at auction.
The Abbasid period key, made of iron and measuring 37 cm long, sold at Sotheby's in London for more than 18 times its pre-sale estimate and was bought anonymously. It is the only known example to remain in private hands.
The key is engraved with the words: “This is what was made for the Holy House of Allah during the time of our lord the Imam son of Imam Al-Muqtadi Abu Ja'far Al-Mustansir Abu'l-Abbas 573.”
It was the highlight of the auctioneer's Islamic sale, which realized £21.5 million, in excess of the pre-sale high estimate of £13.1 million and a new record for an Islamic art auction.
“Remarkably, the sale realized more than the Islamic department's annual total in 2007, demonstrating beyond doubt the burgeoning and international demand for Islamic Art,” said Edward Gibbs, head of Sotheby's Islamic Art department.
The previous record for a work of Islamic art sold at auction is believed to be a bronze fountainhead in the form of a hind dating from mid-10th century Spain. It sold at Christie's in 1997 for £3.6 million.
On Tuesday, Christie's held its own London Islamic sale which fetched £11.8 million, including a leaf from a mid-seventh century copy of the Holy Qur'an sold for £2.5 million versus a pre-sale estimate of £100-150,000.
It was a new world auction record for an Islamic manuscript, the company said.
In addition to the example sold at Sotheby's this week, there are 58 recorded Ka'aba keys, all of which are held in museums.
Most, 54, are in the Topkapi Palace Museum in Istanbul, two are in the Nuhad Es-Said Collection, one is in the Louvre in Paris and one is in the Islamic Art Museum in Cairo.
Sotheby's called the Ka'aba “arguably one of the most important symbols of Islam.”
According to the auctioneer, the tradition of dedicating the key to each Caliph appears to have originated with the Abbasid caliphs in Baghdad. __


Clic here to read the story from its source.