CHRISTIE’S HONG KONG CELEBRATES 20 YEARS OF SUCCESS A History of Unmatched Excellence as Sales Exceed HK$2.07 billion/US$267 million
Reaching 57% Market Share, 12th Consecutive Year of Leadership in Asia
Ginoux, a masterpiece by Van Gogh which is expected to fetch in excess of US$40 million.
2006 SPRING SALES
In conjunction with the 20th anniversary, Christie’s will stage the biannual Asian Art, Jewellery and Watches sales.
This year’s Spring sales (May 28 - June 1) mark the first time that Christie’s Hong Kong expands its sales period
to five days, the largest auction series ever to be staged in Asia. Sales highlights include:
1. The Imperial Sale – May 30
A magnificent early Ming underglaze copper-red vase, Yuhuchunping
Hongwu period (1368-1398)
Estimate on request
2. Fine Classical Chinese Paintings & Calligraphy sale – May 29
Wang Meng (1308-1385)
Brewing Tea
hanging scroll, ink and colour on paper
Estimate: HK$6,000,000-8,000,000/US$774,200-1,032,200
3. Fine Modern & Contemporary Chinese Paintings sale – May 29
Zhang Daqian (1899-1983)
Tibetian girl and Mastiff
hanging scroll, ink and colour on paper
Estimate: HK$1,500,000-2,000,000/US$193,500-258,100
4. 20th Century Chinese Art sale – May 28
Chu Teh-Chun (Zhu Dequn, born in 1920)
Village de pluie rouge, Maison de nuage blanc No. 53
oil on canvas
Estimate: HK$4,000,000-6,000,000/US$512,800-769,200
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5. Asian Contemporary Art sale – May 28
Cai Guo Qiang (born in 1957)
Drawing for Man, Eagle and Eye in the Sky: Eagles Watching Man-Kite
gunpowder drawing on paper, backed on 6 wood panels
Estimate: HK$2,000,000-3,000,000/US$256,400-384,600
6. Modern & Contemporary Southeast Asian Art sale – May 28
Adrien-Jean Le Mayeur de Merprès (Belgium, 1880-1958)
Terrace affording a view of the sea with Pollok under an umbrella and several figures
oil on canvas
Estimate: HK$8,000,000-10,000,000/US$1,025,600-1,282,000
7. Magnificent Jewellery & Jadeite Jewellery sale – June 1
A 13.53 carat pear-shaped 'Golconda' diamond ring, D colour, internally flawless
Estimate: HK$7,500,000-9,500,000/US$950,000-1,200,000
8. Important Watches sale – May 31
Patek Philippe. A very rare and important rectangular tourbillon wristwatch with 10-day power reserve,
ref. 5101P
Estimate: HK$2,000,000-2,400,000/US$250,000-300,000
CHRISTIE’S DEVELOPMENT IN HONG KONG
Since 1986, Christie’s Hong Kong has led initiatives that have inspired a new era in Asia’s auction history,
celebrating tremendous successes at all levels and in all areas:
Chinese Paintings & Asian Contemporary Art
In the 1980s, the auction market in Asia was in its early days, offering only limited and generic sale categories.
Establishing the office and saleroom in Hong Kong, Christie’s first embarked on diversifying the market by
introducing sales unseen in the world before, including the stand-alone Chinese oil paintings sale in 1991; and
the classical Chinese paintings & calligraphy sale in 1994, the first of its kind in Asia. These launches were of
great success, not just in terms of sales figures – Chen Yifei’s oil painting Lingering Melodies from Xunyang River sold
for US$178,750 in September 1991, then a staggering world auction record for a Chinese oil painting – but also
in setting new buying trends, ushering the market to today’s pinnacle where classical, modern and contemporary
Chinese paintings are undisputedly some of the most lucrative segments in the world auction landscape.
Imperial Chinese paintings from the Qing court are extremely scarce and highly sought-after in
