W ith the coming of April, Hong Kong once again began to bustle in anticipation of Sotheby’s biannual auction series. As promised, the weeklong event delivered with a spectacular line-up of paintings, calligraphy, sculpture, ceramics, art objects, wine, jewellery, watches, sneakers, handbags, and more. And the world's foremost art and luxury connoisseurs have remained undeterred throughout the pandemic. The successes of the week owe in equal parts to the appetite for top-quality works from the world of fine art and luxury, continued healthy demand in Asia, the diversifying taste of today's collectors, and Sotheby’s transformation of the auction experience.

Amidst the stream of non-stop activity as thousands of lots went under the hammer, it is easy to lose track of all the many eye-opening moments. Now with only the sale of Fine Chinese Paintings coming up on Saturday as a finale to the Hong Kong Spring Auctions Series, we look back on some of the biggest highlights to date of this season’s auctions. We also present recaps of the week’s sales by category. This story will be updated after the holiday weekend with more from the conclusion of the spring series.

Live-streamed via Sotheby’s website and across an additional nine social and broadcast platforms in Asia and the rest of the world, two marquee sales on Wednesday evening, reaffirmed Hong Kong as a global platform for modern and contemporary art, with strong demand in the region not only for artists from Asia, but also for those from Europe and North America, driven by the broadening of participation in the sales. The sales saw high sell-through rates, at 95% for Modern Art and 98% for Contemporary Art, with more than three quarters of the offerings were completely fresh to the market. The auctions saw brisk activity boosted by the online participation, which made up just less than 50% of all bidders in the sales.

The evening sale for modern art achieved HK$543 million (US$69.2 million), a strong result with about 60% of lots exceeding their projected presale estimates. A Japanese collector clinched the winning bid for Dora Maar HK$169.4 million (US$21.6 million), far surpassing expectations to reach the second highest price for Picasso at auction in Asia, with Sotheby’s now holding four of the top five prices for Picasso in Asia.

Chu Teh-Chun's otherworldly abstract landscape Vent debout and Wu Guanzhong’s resplendent Plum Blossoms were also highly anticipated works that achieved standout success that evening. Having been out of the public eye for two decades, Banquet by Chen Yifei achieved HK$54.5 million (US$7 million) alongside other masterpieces from the collection of Sir Run Run Shaw, including works by Cheong Soo Pieng and Adrien Jean Le Mayeur de Merprès which all sold higher than estimated for a combined HK$17.5 million (US$2.2 million).

Paintings by Vietnamese masters continued their impressive showing at auction season upon season, with brisk demand by participants that evening. Bids for Figures in a Garden, the three-panelled canvas by Le Pho, multiplied to almost six times its high estimate, reaching HK$17.9 million (US$2.3 million) and setting a new auction record for the artist. The single evening also saw records set for Li Huayi, Amad Sadali, André Brasilier, Lalan, and Wang Huaiqing.

The Contemporary Evening Auction was 98.1% sold by lot, with a sale total of $746.4 million (US$95.1 million). Works by a newer generation of emerging artists attracted fierce competition globally, such as Anna Weyant’s still life of a flower Josephine, Louise Bonnet’s The Ice Skater, Shara Hughes’ Tipsy, Salman Toor’s poignant The Rooftop Singer, Cheng Xinyi’s Aperitif and Javier Calleja’s I Hope You Don’t Mind presenting standout results of the evening.

Established contemporary superstars continue to make the biggest impact, with Louise Bourgeois’s spellbinding Spider IV leading the evening sale and becoming the most valuable sculpture ever sold in Asia after achieving HK$129.2 million (US$16.5m million). In its first appearance at auction, Yoshitomo Nara’s Oddly Cozy, a superlative example from the artist’s mature output, sold for HK$112 million (US$14.3 million) while Zeng Fanzhi’s compelling psychological portrait Mask Series 1999 no. 2 fetched HK$25.8 million (US$2.7 million). Yayoi Kusama’s signature Pumpkin doubled its high estimate to sell for HK$30.6 million (US$3.9 million).

In the sale, Sotheby’s Hong Kong set new records for Anna Weyant, Louise Bonnet, Tomokazu Matsuyama, Yoshimoto Nara (for a work on paper), Robert Alice, Chris Huen Sin Kan, Michael Lau, Cheng Xinyi (benchmark for auction debut), Atsushi Kaga, and Peter McDonald.

The paddles were up at the four auctions of Chinese works of art. Opening on Friday morning was A Journey Through China’s History: The Dr Wou Kiuan Collection, the first of a series of single-owner sales from this great collection to be held globally throughout 2022. The day’s spotlight was on the highly anticipated imperial seal bearing the inscription “Qianlong yulan zhi bao” (“admired by his Majesty the Qianlong Emperor”), regarded as the most iconic amongst all connoisseurial seals, carrying the weight of Chinese art history. For such a marvel to appear at auction is a cause for celebration alone. The bidding for the magnificent soapstone seal was intense spurring a 10-minute bidding battle, ultimately arriving at a sale price of HK$153.3 million (US$19.5 million). This makes it the most expensive seal sold at auction in Asia, surpassing the famous imperial white jade seal from the Qianlong period sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in 2021 for HK$145.7 million (US$18.8 million ).

Immediately following the sale was Gems of Imperial Porcelain from the Private Collection of Joseph Lau, featuring the finest examples of imperial ceramics from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Collectors vied for the masterworks from this prestigious collection, with every one of the lots in the auction sold. And from Marchant II, Qing imperials porcelain featuring monochrome and enamelled wares of the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns also yielded strong results. The results of all of the auctions of Chinese works of art demonstrate that the three attributes of rarity, provenance, and condition are the principle drivers of value, and works that possess all three qualities at the highest level will always find demand in any market and in any climate.

Leading Fine Classical Chinese Paintings sale was Leng Mei’s Lofty Scholar Admiring Prunus Blossoms, a model of highly refined figurative painting of the Qing imperial court as well as a rare work with historical significance. Also attracting interest was the fact that the painting bears the imprint “Qianlong yulan zhi bao” from a seal that would be sold at a separate Sotheby’s Hong Kong Chinese art auction on the following Friday morning. Dated to 1713 and completed at the height of his artistic career, Leng Mei’s painting sold for HK$12.5 million (US$1.6 million). This same sale also saw a bidding battle for a Song dynasty handscroll of a sutra. With a higher presale estimate of HK$6 million, the calligraphic work climbed to more than double that amount realising HK$12.8 million (US$1.6 million).

The week of auctions finished with an epic finale when a blue-green landscape by Zhang Daqian sold for a record HK$370.5 million (US$47.2 million). At the Fine Chinese Paintings sale, the atmosphere was thick with excitement and when the hammer came down after an intense bidding, Zhang Daqian's masterpiece broke the world auction record for the artist, previously set by Sotheby's Hong Kong in 2016. The extraordinary Zhang Daqian work Landscape after Wang Ximeng is a masterful reinterpretation of the legendary panorama by the Song dynasty landscape master. Fresh to the market, this blue and green landscape was painted in 1948 during the pinnacle of the artist’s height of traditional elaborated landscapes for his exhibition in Shanghai in the same year. This auction presented more than 200 exquisite modern Chinese paintings, including a series of Wu Guanzhong’s watercolours, sketches, and ink and colour paintings. We will update this story after the weekend following the conclusion of the Fine Chinese Paintings sale.

The 2022 Spring Sales series kicked off with two days of wine and spirits auctions in Hong Kong, including Prestigious French Wines from a Great Cellar, The Wine Hunter’s Cellar, Finest and Rarest Wines, and Finest and Rarest Spirits. Over the course of a single weekend, the sales concluded with a robust total of HK$131 million (US$16.7 million), at the top end of the combined pre-sale estimate for the four auctions, and with more than half of the lots sold achieving prices above their high estimates. White Burgundy and Japanese whisky took the top spots, including a three-bottle offering of Chevalier Montrachet 2011 Domaine d'Auvenay, a full set of 36 bottles of Karuizawa depicting Katsushika Hokusai’s the 36 view of Mount Fuji, and a bottle of the Yamazaki 35-Year-old. Other highlights of the weekend include a Methuselah of the 1976 vintage of DRC Romanée Conti 1976 which sold for HK$1.3 million, plus continued demand for Burgundy, with 12 bottles each of the D’auvenay Chevalier Montrachet in original wooden cases from 1997 and 1998s, sold for HK$1.6 million per 12 bottle-lot.

The De Beers Blue. An eight-minute battle between four bidders took the price well beyond the HK$380 million (US$48 million) pre-sale estimate, with the stone going to the winner for the final price of HK$451 million (US$57.5 million), almost touching the current record for a blue diamond set in 2016 by The Oppenheimer Blue, which sold for US$57.5 million. This wonder of nature had been cut from an exceptional rough stone discovered at the Cullinan Mine in South Africa in 2021. It re-emerged as the largest vivid blue diamond ever to appear at auction and the largest internally flawless step cut vivid blue diamond that the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has ever graded. Sotheby’s holds six of the top seven highest prices for Fancy Vivid Blue diamonds and two of the top three prices for diamonds of any colour.

Indeed, the hue of the season has been blue. The De Beers Blue led with a great start, and following suit was the 3.27 carat Fancy Vivid Blue Internally Flawless diamond ring which fetched HK$41.5 million (US$5.3 million). The 26.08 carats 26.08-carat Burmese Sapphire and Diamond Ring exceeded its high estimate to realise a sale price of HK$13.7 million (US$1.7 million), while the 9.66-carat Kashmir Sapphire and Diamond Ring designed by Nicholas Lieou had impressive results at HK$10.7 million (US$1.4 million). From the house of Van Cleef & Arpels, a 'Feuille de Platane' Sapphire Brooch achieved close to six times its lower estimate selling at HK$2.9 million (US$369,000).

Iconic signed pieces delivered strong results, as collectors gravitated towards not only blue jewels, but also gemstones across the spectrum of colour, with highlights including a 16-carat pear-shaped pink diamond, a 17-carat fancy vivid yellow diamond with mount by Bulgari, an emerald and diamond necklace by Van Cleef & Arpels, and a Harry Winston diamond pendant necklace from 1960.

The fine performance of jadeite jewellery reflects continued strong demand from Asia. Spurred on by the gemstone’s alluring lustre, enthusiastic bidders honed in on pieces with intense colour and great translucency, such as an oval ‘Imperial Jade’ cabochon ring or a jadeite bangle which sold for more than twice its upper presale estimate. A top highlight of the auction includes a rare and important 'Imperial Green' jadeite and diamond parure which sold for HK$46.4 million (US$ 5.9 million); the piece is composed of ten oval jadeite cabochons of intense green weighing 176.93 carats in total. Further underscoring the growing appetite for jadeite, an extraordinary ‘Imperial Green’ jadeite necklace, composed of 43 jadeite beads of highly translucent emerald green colour, generated great excitement throughout the previews leading to the spring series, and this stunning piece was sold immediately after the auction for HK$77.5 million (US$ 9.9 million).

In the course of two days, Sotheby’s staged two highly successful watches auctions; The Nevadian Collector followed by Important Watches I together contributed to a combined total of HK$338 million (US$43 million).

The Nevadian Collector was a “white-glove” sale with all 39 lots sold, setting a world auction record for a Patek Philippe Reference 2499. At HK$162.4 million (US$20.7 million) achieved, that makes it the most valuable single-owner watches sale every staged at Sotheby’s Asia. Three other reference 2499 offered in the sale were also sold above high estimates, and together, all four sold for a combined total of HK$100 million (US$12.7 million), contributing significantly to the sale.

Important Watches I marked the first time a Patek Philippe Reference 5217 was offered at auction, and it realised HK$17 million (US$2.3 million). Patek Philippe achieved top prices, as a Reference 5016, Reference 3940, and Reference 5971 in the sale all set auction records for their respective references. The sale total for this auction rose to HK$175.3 million (US$22.3 million)