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Auction houses remain optimistic about upcoming sales in Hong Kong

No shortage of lots for sale in the second wave of Hong Kong’s annual autumn auctions but valuations are conservative given market uncertainties

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The Crimson Flame, a 15-carat Burmese pigeon’s blood ruby to be auctioned at Christie’s and valued between HK$78 million and HK$120 million.
Enid Tsui

Art investors are watching nervously as auction houses prepare to sell billions of dollars worth of art and collectables in Hong Kong this week amid challenging market conditions.

On November 13, Sotheby’s, the New York-listed auction house, announced a round of voluntary redundancies as it struggles to cut costs amid losses and a decline in revenue. Despite Chinese billionaire Liu Yiqian’s US$170.4 million purchase of a painting by Amedeo Modigliani at Christie’s New York on November 9, the sell-through rate of that evening’s sale was a paltry 71 per cent, a sign that collectors are becoming very selective.

But there has not been a significant drop in the volume of art and collectables presented for sale this week in the second wave of the annual autumn auctions in Hong Kong.

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Lots worth an estimated HK$3.1 billion will be offered for sale at Christie’s upcoming auctions from November 26 to December 2, about the same amount as it sold a year ago if buyers’ premiums are included.

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Eric Chang, international director of Christie’s Asian 20th Century and Contemporary Art Department, said market conditions required a conservative approach to valuations.

Bada Shanren’s Egret on Rock.
Bada Shanren’s Egret on Rock.
The estimate for one of the auction highlights – Sanyu’s Vase de chrysanthèmes sur une table jaune – is HK$10 million to HK$15 million, a far cry from the HK$81.9 million that his Chrysanthemums in a Glass Vase, albeit a bigger work, fetched in Christie’s spring sale in Hong Kong.
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Christie’s said that the downturn was still drawing out quality pieces, such as Bada Shanren’s Egret on Rock, estimated at HK$18 million to HK$28 million. The painting has been in the hands of a private collection in Japan and is believed to have been executed after 1700 and is hence a late work by the Ming-dynasty Chinese master.

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