Christie’s sets new Asian record

Christie’s broke its Asian record with sales of HK$3.18bn ($409m) as its six-day autumn auction ended on Thursday.

Buyers from the Chinese mainland bought as much as 43 per cent of the total.

In October, its rival Sotheby’s set its own record of HK$3.09bn in its Hong Kong auction.

François Curiel, president of Christie’s Asia, estimated that auction houses in Asia had achieved total sales of $3.8bn this year.

“What surprises me is the fast development of the market here,” said Mr Curiel. “Five years ago, Christie’s was selling $80m to $100m a year in Asia and we were very happy.”

Sales of antiques surpassed Christie’s estimates during its six-day sale of Chinese ceramics, works of art, jewellery and fine wine.

While no individual item matched the figure for the Qianlong vase that fetched £43m ($67m) last month at Bainbridges auction rooms in the UK, three-quarters of the works beat the high-end predictions.

A pink enamelled blue-and-white 18th century moonflask sold on Tuesday for HK$123.86m, compared with an estimate of HK$25m-35m. Mr Curiel said the prices resulted partly from the large amounts of cash chasing fine art and wines around the world. “This is part of a transcendent trend. Wherever we see an item of top quality, the old prices are no longer relevant.”

He pointed to the high prices paid for jewellery in London this week and to the sale by Christie’s of a 14-carat pink diamond for HK$179.9m in Hong Kong on Monday.

Soaring prices: these 18th century double-crane statues sold for HK$129.46m

A pair of imperial enamel double-crane statues were bought by the Hong Kong billionaire Joseph Lau for HK$129.46m. They are be­lieved to have been a birthday gift from Prince Hongli (later Emperor Qianlong) to his father. Emblematic of the shift of wealth to Asia from the west, the 57in statues were part of the collection of Alfred Morrison, son of a 19th century British textile tycoon.

In another sign of the growing art market in Asia, auction houses and galleries are for the first time selling impressionist and early 20th century European art. Sotheby’s Asia is currently holding a selling exhibition in Hong Kong of works by Renoir, Monet and Picasso, with prices ranging from $2m to $20m.

Daryl Wickstrom, deputy chairman of Sotheby’s Asia, said the sales calendar was moving beyond the traditional auctions in April and October to include more mid-season sales.