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Millions of dirhams have been raised for charity by the auctioning off of 25 colourful model horses.
In Memory of Shaikh Zayed, a model horse design inspired by the poetry of General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, was the biggest bid of the night.
The fibreglass equines went for as much as Dh280,000 each during the sale conducted by auctioneers Christie's.
And tens of thousands of dirhams more will be flooding into charity coffers as 53 more horses are being bought by sealed bids.
The horses have brightened up Dubai since January this year, when the first of them appeared in prominent locations such as Shaikh Zayed Road.
The project was the work of community art company ArtWorks, which was also created dozens of camel sculptures that adorned the emirate last year.
During an auction held at Madinat Jumeirah on Wednesday night, the 25 horses were sold for a total of Dh2.498 million.
The cheapest horse sold for Dh30,000, while four attracted such heavy bidding that they fetched Dh200,000 or more.
Patricia Palmer, who runs ArtWorks with husband Ken, said she was delighted with the level of interest.
"It's been a very unique event and Christie's did an excellent job. We've raised a lot of money for charity 100 per cent of the proceeds are going to charity and so I'm very pleased," she said.
The biggest bid (Dh280,000) went for the final horse of the night, which was named In Memory of Shaikh Zayed and the design was inspired by the poetry of General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and UAE Defence Minister.
It was bought by the Royal Mirage hotel, whose general manager Olivier Louis put in the winning bid.
He had narrowly missed out on buying the previous horse, Mim, which has a design inspired by Farsi script and was sold for Dh270,000.
Another horse that proved popular with bidders was Monarch, which has a set of butterfly wings sprouting from its back and went for Dh200,000.
Victory, which features a poem by General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, was sold for Dh210,000.
The 78 horses sold by auction and sealed bids were painted by professional artists and pupils from 18 schools and colleges.
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