Hong Kong – Christie’s Hong Kong Spring Sales realised HK$2.45bn/US$316m from 16 sales across 6 days.

Rebecca Wei, Christie’s President Asia said, “We have had another strong season of sales with multiple world records for top masterpieces. Over the week we saw buyers from 32 markets, with almost one-fifth of them being new to Christie’s. The Evening Sale Contemporaries: Voices from East and West, saw a true mix of both Asian and Western collectors, who accounted for 20% of total buyers. Each of our three Asian art categories sold a lot in excess of HK$100,000,000, and buying from Southeast Asian clients was particularly robust this season. Impressive results were achieved for our Luxury categories as well - a quarter of the lots sold at the Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels sale exceeded high estimate with the Iconic Hong Kong Jewellery Designers section yielding 100% sold by lot.”.  

Jonathan Stone, Chairman of Asian Art, commented, “The robust global demand for Asian Art continued through the Hong Kong Spring Sales, where we saw a persistently strong appetite for masterworks, notably Zhang Daqian’s ‘Ancient Temples Amidst Clouds’, which achieved HK$102,460,000/ US$13,212,699; the world-record breaking 29.09.64 by Zao Wou-ki, which sold for HK$152,860,000/US$19,712,015, over three times the high estimate; and The Yongzheng Emperor’s Double Dragon Amphora, realizing HKD140,540,000/ US$18,129,688, a world auction record for a Chinese Monochrome porcelain. The Hong Kong series of sales sustained the enthusiasm for Asian art seen in the first half of 2017. The momentum began with Asia Week in New York in March, which achieved a historic sales total of USD332,783,188, the highest ever for a series of Asian Art auctions,  and continued in London in May. Strong Asian buying was seen in both these sites, with collectors from the region accounting for 87% of the sales total in New York and over 50% in London.”