First Day of Sales in Sotheby’s Hong Kong Spring Series Totals HK$243,787,250 (US$31,294,970)
FIRST DAY OF SALES IN SOTHEBY’S HONG KONG SPRING SERIES TOTALS HK$243,787,250 (US$31,294,970)
SALE OF FINE CHINESE PAINTINGS REALISES HK$148,511,250 (US$19,064,389), WELL ABOVE THE HIGH ESTIMATE
SOTHEBY’S SALE OF MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY SOUTHEAST ASIAN PAINTINGS, HELD IN HONG KONG FOR THE FIRST TIME, BRINGS HK$75,908,500 (US$9,744,374), ALMOST DOUBLING ITS HIGH ESTIMATE
INAUGURAL THEME SALE OF VIETNAMESE PAINTINGS ACHIEVES HK$19,357,500 (US$2,486,206), A RECORD SALE FOR VIETNAMESE ART
RECORDS SET FOR WORKS BY LÜ SHOUKUN,
RUDI MANTOFANI, I NYOMAN MASRIADI, WALTER SPIES, PUTU SUTAWIJAYA, AGUS SUWAGE, LE PHO, VU CAO DAM, PHAM HAU, TRAN BINH LOC, BUI XUAN PHAI, AMONG OTHERS
[Hong Kong, April 8, 2008] Today Sotheby’s Hong Kong concluded the first of four days in its series of spring 2008 sales at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, featuring sales of Fine Chinese Paintings, Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Paintings, held in Hong Kong for the first time*, and An Important Collection of Vietnamese Paintings Featuring The Philip Ng Collection, totaling HK$243,787,250 (US$31,294,970).
The sale of Fine Chinese Paintings realized HK$148,511,250/US$19,064,349), well above the high estimate (HK$87,775,000/123,203,000 / US$11,253,205/15,795,256). The sale of Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Paintings, which featured 190 lots of Indo-European, Singaporean, Malaysian, Filipino and Thai Paintings, and Contemporary works, brought HK$75,908,500/US$9,744,374, almost doubling the high estimate (est. HK$27,405,000/$39,415,000 / US$3,513,461/5,053,205). The inaugural theme sale of Vietnamese Paintings, which featured works by such celebrated artists as Le Pho, Vu Cao Dam and Mai Trung Thu, among others, achieved HK$19,357,500/US$2,486,206, also well over the high estimate (est. HK$11,680,000/$15,535,000 / US$1,497,435/1,991,666).
Fine Chinese Paintings
C.K. Cheung, Head of Sotheby’s Fine Chinese Paintings department, said: “We are pleased with the solid results of HK$148,511,250 (US$19,064,389) (including buyer’s premium), achieved in today’s sale, which came in well above the high estimate of HK$123,203,000 (US$15,795,256). There was especially frenzied bidding for the Paintings of Fu Baoishi from a French Private Collection, which had been off the market since the 1940s and attracted much interest. For example, lot 235, Garden Fete, sold for HK$4,447,500 (US$570,926) (est. HK$400/600,000). While several new clients bid and bought today at all levels of the market, at times bidding was measured and careful, reflecting the thoughtful participation of collectors. Our cover lot (lot 99), Lü Shoukun’s Zen - 1974, which is a masterpiece and the finest of the artist’s work ever to have come to the market, set a much-deserved record for the artist, bringing HK$1,807,500 (US$219,038) (est. HK$1.5/2 million).”
Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Paintings
Mok Kim Chuan, Head of Sotheby’s Southeast Asian Paintings department, said: “Today’s spectacular sale, which achieved HK$75,908,500/US$9,744,374 (including buyer’s premium), against a pre-sale estimate of HK$27,405,000/$39,415,000, produced results which conclusively demonstrate that Hong Kong is an ideal sales centre in which to offer Southeast Asian Paintings. By mounting the sale in Hong Kong, the department was able to offer a much more international platform to attract new collectors/buyers to the collecting area, which was evident during the pre-sale view. The salesroom witnessed a euphoric bidding battle as the market set a new level for the work of I Nyoman Masriadi (lot 534), which sold for HK$2,887,500 (US$370,668), against a pre-sale estimate of HK$150/200,000, which was also an auction record for a Contemporary Southeast Asian artist. Five out of the top ten prices in the sale were for the works of Contemporary artists, a trend which conforms to other parts of the current art market. There was an extremely low unsold rate.”
An Important Collection of Vietnamese Paintings Featuring The Philip Ng Collection
Mok Kim Chuan, Head of Sotheby’s Southeast Asian Paintings department, said: “Today we set a record for a sale of Vietnamese art, with records also set for four artists and a record for lacquer painting as well. There was strong interest in lacquer painting, a particular specialty of Vietnamese painters. Buying came from traditional Southeast Asian centres, but we also saw new Hong Kong buyers who were responding to the opportunity of the new selling venue as well as European buyers.”
* The Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Paintings sale was previously held in Singapore for twelve years.
** Estimates do not include buyer’s premium.
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