Kapoor Sculpture May Fetch $2.6 Million at Bonhams Dubai Sale

Kapoor's 8-foot-high sculpture, ``Mountain,'' is constructed out of 120 water-jet-cut layers of aluminum. The piece dates from 2001 and was originally commissioned by the city of Malmo, Sweden, for the exhibition Bo01.

In July, a 2003 alabaster piece by the Bombay-born former Turner Prizewinner achieved a record 1.9 million pounds with fees at Sotheby's, London.

Bonhams is hoping Dubai's varied expatriate community will also be attracted to 1970s paintings by the Iranian artists Faramarz Pilaram and Sohrab Sepehri at low estimates of $500,000 and $400,000 respectively. The acrylic-on-canvas ``Two Women'' by Iraq's Issam El-Said is valued at $40,000 to $60,000 and ``The Palm Mother,'' a painting by the Emirates artist Abdul Qadir Al- Rais, is valued at $100,000 to $150,000.

Girling said there was still an appetite for art in Dubai, pointing out that Christie's sold 70 percent of the works at its October auction.

``Local people don't want these auctions to fail,'' said Girling. ``They want to support them. They're seen as part of the success story of the region.''