Hong Kong spring auction results May-June 2016

Even though there were good results in Asian Art auctions worldwide  the last few months, everybody was eager to know how the May auctions in Hong Kong would go. Many of them were succesful with  reasonable to high sale rates but also quite a lot of disappointing results.  All prices include the buyer’s premium.

 

Asian 20th Century & Contemporary Art (Evening Sale) – Christie’s May 28
Sale total HK$458 million, Sale rate  71% by lot

ZAO WOU-KI (ZHAO WUJI, French/Chinese, 1920 – 2013) Untitled (Vert émeraude)
A large painting, oil on canvas, with very good pedigree. HK$ 70.7 million (unpublished estimate)

 

ZENG FANZHI (Chinese, B. 1964)  Meat No. 3: Nativity, 1992
Exhibited at London, UK, Saatchi Gallery, Post Pop: East Meets West  HK$ 30.3 million (undisclosed estimate)

 

YOSHITOMO NARA (Japanese, B. 1959)  Banging the Drum  2007
From a private Asian Collection  HK$ 9 million (HK$ 7.5 – 11 million)

 

LIU YE (Chinese, B. 1964)  Red No. 2  2003I
HK$ 4.8 million ( HK$ 5 – 7 million)

 

Asian Contemporary Art (Day Sale) – Christie’s May 29
Sale total HK$64 million, Sale rate  78.5% by lot

 

Fine Chinese Paintings and Southeast Asian Art – Bonhams May 29
Sale total HK$20.7 million, Sale rate  62.9% by lot

 

Asian 20th Century Art (Day Sale) – Christie’s May 29
Sale total HK$113 million, Sale rate  78.5% by lot

 

Chinese Contemporary Ink – Christie’s May 29
Sale total HK$21.3 million, Sale rate  77.1% by lot

 

Hong Kong Sale – K Auction May 29
Sale total HK$51.8 million, Sale rate  77.1% by lot

 

Hong Kong Sale – Seoul Auction May 29
Sale total HK$114.5 million, Sale rate  82.2% by lot

 

Fine Chinese Classical Paintings & Calligraphy – Christie’s May 30
Sale total HK$68.5 million, Sale rate  64.2% by lot

ZHANG RUO’AI (1713-1746) Autumn Landscape
A painting from the Imperial Collection, with an inscription and three seals of the Qianlong emperor sold for HK$ 18.4 million (HK$ 3 – 5 million)

 

QIAN WEICHENG (1720-1772) A Poem and Landscape of Jinmen
Inscribed with a poem and signed by Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799), with two seals
Exhibited in the Asian Museum in San Francisco last ear and from the collection of Professor Wen Fong, the well known educator, art historian and connoisseur. Professor Fong taught Chinese art history at Princeton from 1954 until his retirement in 1999. HK$ 11 million (HK$ 1.5 – 2 million)

 

EMPEROR QIANLONG (1711-1799, REIGNED 1736-1796)  Poem in Running Cursive Script
Inscribed, with two seals of the artistDated autumn, gengchen year (1760). HK$ 4.2 million (HK$ 1 – 1.5 million)

 

Fine Chinese Paintings – Sotheby’s May 30
Sale total HK$75 million, Sale rate  92.1% by lot

 

Fine Classical Chinese Paintings – Sotheby’s May 30
Sale total HK$103 million, Sale rate  75.7% by lot

 

30 Years: The Sale – Christie’s May 30
Christie’s celebrated their presence with a special auction of 30 lots from various departments with very good results. A succesful one, as 29 lots were sold (the 110 scrolls with Water margin scenes by Huang Yongyu were withdrawn as the artist stated that they were forgeries ), for a total of HK$ 631 million (US$ 81 million)

The star lot was the Xuande mark and by Christie’s described as being of the period blue and white dragon jar which fetched  HK$158 million (US$ 20.4 million). Estimated at HK$60 – 80 million.

Zhang Daqian (1899-1983), Summer on California Mountain. An unusual work for the artist and whit a very good pedigree and exhibited in Brasil and the HK$ 39.3 million selling price was well above the high estimate of HK$ 18 – 28 million.

 

Yayoi Kusama, Sex Obsession C, a work from 1992 sold for HK$15.6 million (9 – 12 million)

 

A superbly carved Northern Song Ding ware dish sold at HK$7.5 million (HK$ 3 – 5 million)

 

Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art – Lyon and Turnbull/Freeman’s May 31
Sale total HK$ 56 million, Sale rate  27.8% by lot

It was the inaugural sale of this auction house combination and apart from the fabulous stemcup disappointing results. Their collaboration with the Asia Week Hong Kong organization did not bring them the audience they deserve, with only 60 people in the room.

 

The Xuande Mark and period stemcup that sold for HK$ 41.5 million

 

Classical Chinese Art from the Sui to the Song Dynasties – Christie’s June 01
Sale total HK$79.2 million, Sale rate  58.8% by lot

 

The Imperial Sale / Important Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art – Christie’s June 01
Sale total HK$306 million, Sale rate  50% by lot

 

Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art – Bonhams June 02
Sale total HK$ 47 million, Sale rate  75% by lot

 

Water, Pine and Stone Retreat Collection – Playthings – Sotheby’s June 02
Sale Total HK$ 25.1 million

 

 

Chinese Art – Sotheby’s June 02 and 03
Sale Total HK$ 57 million

 

Back