Female Lebanese Artists Steal Show at Third Dalloul Collection Sale at Christie's in London

For the third year in a row, Christie’s has presented the third sale of works from the Dalloul Collection in London. This latest sale - titled Silsila - took place on 6 November 2025 and included works by some of the region’s most celebrated artists, including Marwan, Mahmoud Said, and Samia Halaby amongst many others.

Silsila - meaning “sequence” or “chain” - in Arabic, consisted of 39 lots made up of paintings and sculpture. The collaboration cements the collaboration between Dr Basel Dalloul - Chairman and Founder of the Ramzi and Saeda Dalloul Art Foundation, one of Lebanon’s most important collections of modern and contemporary art from the MENA region - and Christie’s.

This third sale had a particular focus on artists working in Lebanon and Palestine, showcasing works by Nabil Anani, Samia Halaby, and Laila Shawa to name but a few. Amongst the Palestinian artists on sale, Kamal Boullata, Samia Halaby, and Sliman Mansour did particularly well. Boullata's "Nocturne 1" (2001) went for more than double its high estimate of GBP 50,000 for 165,100. Where Samia Halaby's two works in the sale - “Gardenia” (1978) and “Flowers in the Sky for Hala” (1995) - went for GBP 152,400 and GBP 146,050 respectively. Mansour's “Untitled” triptych of 2014 however, did exceptionally well, selling for GBP 323,850, well over its GBP 180,000 estimate. As for the Lebanese artists, it was a good night for the women in particular. Helen Khal's “Untitled” (1985) went for double the estimate at GBP 95,250, where Huguette Caland's mixed media work “Vive la Liberte” (1998) sold for GBP 330,200. Meanwhile Saloua Raouda Choucair's “Poem” (1966-1968) - one of few sculptures on sale - sold for GBP 393,700, more than triple its high estimate of GBP 85,000 and being the highest selling work of the night.

In addition to pieces from the Dalloul Collection, the sale also featured a number of other important works from other notable private collections, including “La colline de Mekarzel” (1955) by Mahmoud Said, going for GBP 127,000 and Aref El Rayess’ “Soukhour Meyrouba” (1977), which sold for GBP 114,300. Other highlights included Mahmoud Said's "The Girl with the Green Eyes (replica)" (1932) which realised GBP 317,500, Mohamed Melehi’s "Composition" (2006) which sold for GBP 82,550, and MARWAN's "Kopf (Head)" (2013-2014) which went for GBP 165,100.

Of the 39 night lots, 33 sold. Surprisingly, both Dia Al-Azzawi lots within the sale - which were noted as highlights by Christie’s - failed to sell. Jewad Selim’s “Back Gardens - Camden Town” (1947), which the artist painted in London, also did not sell. In fact, of five lots by Iraqi artists, only one work sold, Shaker Hassan Al Said's "Untitled" (1991), which went for GBP 50,800.

Overall, the sale totalled GBP 4,112,260, succeeding in its aims of highlighting artists from Lebanon and Palestine, with the three biggest sales belonging to Saloua Raouda Choucair, Huguette Caland, and Nabil Anani. The sale is significant in that the two highest lots belonged to female Lebanese artists.