Colnaghi, the world's oldest surviving art dealership founded in 1760, will open a new outpost in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, following a deal worth 10 million Saudi riyals (around £2 million) with the Saudi private equity firm Sarat Investment Holding. The gallery, which specializes in Old Masters, antiquities, and pre-20th century art, already has locations in London, New York, and Madrid. The opening date has not been announced, but the move marks the first time an Old Master gallery has entered the Saudi market, a surprising development given that most art sales in the kingdom focus on Modern and contemporary works.
The expansion signals a strategic shift in Saudi Arabia's cultural ambitions, as the Ministry of Culture (MOC) appears to be building a museum in Riyadh to house Leonardo da Vinci's Salvator Mundi, purchased for $450 million in 2017 by Prince Badr bin Farhan Al Saud on behalf of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Colnaghi is expected to sell Islamic art and artefacts to cater to regional collectors, and the announcement coincided with Saudi Arabia's Cultural Investment Conference, which featured high-profile figures like Art Basel CEO Noah Horowitz and Pinault Collection president Guillaume Cerutti. The MOC also signed a memorandum of understanding with Deutsche Bank and launched the Audi Capital MENA Art Fund, underscoring the kingdom's push to develop its cultural sector and attract international art investment.