Sotheby’s sets two new records with Chinese painting and rare diamond in Hong Kong auction
Strong demand from buyers other than mainland collectors is helping the art market buck the trend amid the economic downturn
The art market brushed aside economic woes as auction houses reported two record-breaking sales on Tuesday of a Chinese painting and a rare blue diamond.
At a Sotheby’s sale at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Zhang Daqian’s 1982 hanging scroll, Peach Blossom Spring, sold for a record HK$271 million. After more than 100 bids in 50 minutes in a jam-packed room, the painting was snapped up by Shanghai’s Long Museum.
The private museum was founded by China’s art power couple, Liu Yiqian and Wang Wei, who have been making aggressive acquisitions around the world including Amedeo Modigliani’s Reclining Nude for a record US$170.4 million at Christie’s New York sale last year.
Hours later, Sotheby’s set another record by selling the De Beers Millennium Jewel 4 for HK$248.29 million. It was sold to an anonymous buyer bidding by phone.
The 10.10-carat vivid blue diamond became the most expensive piece of jewellery sold at auction in Asia, even though it was at the lower end of estimates.
