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Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz Public Library Showcases Rare Stamp Collection

The library's stamp collection comprises 13,000 stamps, including rare specimens issued during the reign of King Abdulaziz Al Saud. SPA
The library's stamp collection comprises 13,000 stamps, including rare specimens issued during the reign of King Abdulaziz Al Saud. SPA
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Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz Public Library Showcases Rare Stamp Collection

The library's stamp collection comprises 13,000 stamps, including rare specimens issued during the reign of King Abdulaziz Al Saud. SPA
The library's stamp collection comprises 13,000 stamps, including rare specimens issued during the reign of King Abdulaziz Al Saud. SPA

The King Abdulaziz Public Library in Riyadh has revealed a rare collection of postage stamps that chronicle contemporary Saudi history.

The collection spans various national occasions and events, both before and after the founding of the Kingdom.

The library's stamp collection comprises 13,000 stamps, including rare specimens issued during the reign of King Abdulaziz Al Saud. The oldest stamp in the collection dates back to March 1925.

A particularly significant historical stamp commemorates King Abdulaziz's accession to the throne in 1931-1932, preceding the unification of the Kingdom on September 23, 1932. The first stamp bearing the name "Kingdom of Saudi Arabia" was issued in 1934, with several editions printed in various colors.

During King Abdulaziz's reign, stamp collections were issued to mark significant events such as the opening of the railway, visits by Arab and Islamic leaders, and the introduction of airmail services.

This valuable collection offers a fascinating glimpse into the historical development of Saudi Arabia and its postal system.

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Magritte Painting Nets Auction Record of $121 Million

Rene Magritte's "L'empire des lumières" is on display during a press preview for Christie's Fall 20/21 Marquee Week in New York, November 8, 2024. (AFP)
Rene Magritte's "L'empire des lumières" is on display during a press preview for Christie's Fall 20/21 Marquee Week in New York, November 8, 2024. (AFP)
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Magritte Painting Nets Auction Record of $121 Million

Rene Magritte's "L'empire des lumières" is on display during a press preview for Christie's Fall 20/21 Marquee Week in New York, November 8, 2024. (AFP)
Rene Magritte's "L'empire des lumières" is on display during a press preview for Christie's Fall 20/21 Marquee Week in New York, November 8, 2024. (AFP)

A painting by Rene Magritte shattered an auction record for the surrealist artist on Tuesday, selling for more than $121 million at Christie's in New York.

The seminal 1954 painting had been valued at $95 million, and the previous record for a work by Magritte (1898-1967) was $79 million, set in 2022.

After a nearly 10-minute bidding war on Tuesday, "Empire of Light" ("L'Empire des lumieres") was sold for $121,160,000, "achieving a world-record price for the artist and for a surrealist work of art at auction", according to auction house Christie's.

The painting -- depicting a house at night, illuminated by a lamp post, while under a bright, blue sky -- is one of a series by the Belgian artist showing the interplay of shadow and light.

"Empire of Light" was part of the private collection of Mica Ertegun, an interior designer who fled communist Romania to settle in the United States where she became an influential figure in the arts world.

She died in late 2023 and was married to the late Ahmet Ertegun, the music magnate who founded the Atlantic Records label.

The sale of the Magritte painting was an expected highlight of this week's autumn sales season in New York, at a time when the art market has seen a slowdown since last year.

Christie's -- which is controlled by Artemis, the investment holding company owned by the Pinault family -- said sales totaled $2.1 billion in the first half of this year.

That is down for the second straight year, after a peak of $4.1 billion in 2022 as the world emerged from the coronavirus pandemic.

During the same Christie's auction on Tuesday, a celebrated 1964 painting of a gas station by 86-year-old Ed Ruscha, titled "Standard Station, Ten-Cent Western Being Torn in Half," sold for $68.26 million, setting a new auction record for the American pop artist.