Christie's Hong Kong Sale hits $418 Million

Bloomberg looks at the recent 5 day sales event Christie's held in Hong Kong.  Highlights of the sale include a pair of Qianlong period "famille rose" vases which sold for $5.62 million (see image) and a 75.36 carat diamond necklace which sold for $11.09 million.

Bloomberg reports on the sale

The five days of events that ended last night raised HK$3.2 billion ($418 million), the auction house said in an e-mailed release today. The sales showed the continued buying power of Asian clients, even as China’s expansion is slowing from the pace that turned it into the world’s No. 2 economy.

“The market has most definitely recovered since last year,” said William Qian, a London-based dealer of ceramics who bid unsuccessfully for a Qianlong (1736-1795) blue and white Sanskrit-inscribed bell that sold for HK$15.6 million, 12 times its high estimate of HK$1.2 million.

The bell was part of a sale from the estate of Y.C. Chen, one of the most respected dealers of Chinese art in which all 68 lots sold, including the most expensive, a pair of iron-red Qianlong famille rose vases for HK$43.6 million yesterday.

The highlight of the May 28 jewelry sale was the 75.36-carat, water-drop-shaped diamond necklace that sold for an auction record of HK$86.1 million for a briolette-style gem. The Type IIa diamond is known for its exceptional transparency, according to the Christie’s catalog.

Zhang Daqian

A set of four hanging scrolls of ink and color on paper by Zhang (1899-1983) entitled “Lotus” was the top lot in the Chinese modern paintings sale, selling for HK$80.5 million with fees, more than five times its high estimate of HK$15 million at hammer prices.

A number of artist records were set during the Asian contemporary sale, though none by mainland Chinese artists. The results reflected how collectors are looking increasingly to southeast Asia, dealers said.

Source: Bloomberg