First Look: Hong Kong Spring Sales

CHATEAU MARGAUX 2015
1 BOTTLE, 1 MAGNUM, 1 DOUBLE MAGNUM & 1 IMPERIAL
ESTIMATE HK$140,000–200,000

Finest and Rarest Wines | 30 March

The sale of Finest and Rarest Wines features an exceptionally rare offer of ex-Cellar Château Margaux 2015 in multiple large formats, as well as original wooden cases of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Petrus from the 1980s. Whisky highlights include a bottle of 1937 Glenfiddich Rare Collection aged 64 years.

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CHATEAU MOUTON ROTHSCHILD, 1959, 6 MAGNUMS. ESTIMATE HK$220,000–320,000.
CHATEAU HAUT BRION, 1953, 6 MAGNUMS. ESTIMATE HK$100,000–160,000 / 1959, 12 BOTTLES. ESTIMATE HK$160,000–220,000.
CHATEAU MARGAUX, 1982, 12 BOTTLES. ESTIMATE HK$60,000–80,000 / 1961, 6 MAGNUMS. ESTIMATE HK$120,000–180,000.
CHATEAU LAFITE, 1982, 6 MAGNUMS. ESTIMATE HK$220,000–320,000 / 1986, 12 BOTTLES. ESTIMATE HK$85,000–120,000.
CHATEAU LATOUR, 1982, 6 MAGNUMS. ESTIMTE HK$130,000–180,000 / 1961, 12 BOTTLES. ESTIMATE HK$300,000–420,000.

The Philanthropist’s Cellar: An Extraordinary Collection Sold to Benefit Charitable Causes | 31 March

Sotheby’s is privileged to present The Philanthropist’s Cellar: An Extraordinary Collection Sold to Benefit Charitable Causes , potentially Sotheby’s largest-ever single-owner wine sale in Asia. Estimated at HK$60 million, The Philanthropist’s Cellar offers 800 lots of wines from the collection of a long-established wine connoisseur, assembled over three decades. All net sale proceeds will be donated to improve the health and education conditions of children and young adults in rural China, mainly through the efforts of Stanford University’s Rural Education Action Program (REAP), the major beneficiary of the sale.

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ZAO WOU-KI SANS TITRE, 1953. ESTIMATE HK$ 8,000,000-12,000,000.

Modern Art Evening Sale l 31 March

The sale offers a spectacular selection of modern works by important Asian and Western masters, including Sanyu’s Nu Endormi - making its first appearance at auction in fifty years. A curated section of post-war Asian art also features works by Hsiao Chin, Li Yuan-Chia, Zao Wou-Ki and Chu Teh-chun, among others.

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KUSAMA YAYOI RED-NETS NO. 2.A.3. 1960. ESTIMATE HK$24,000,000–32,000,000.

Contemporary Art Evening Sale l 31 March

The Contemporary Art Evening Sale presents a spectacular selection of post-war and contemporary works by important Western masters, key Gutai pioneers and blue-chip Chinese, Japanese and Korean artists. Spanning different epochs in contemporary art history, the sale highlights the pioneering visions of artists from the East and West. The sale also offers outstanding pieces which showcase Southeast Asian abstract and figurative approaches.

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WALTER SPIES, BERGE UND TEICH (MOUNTAINS AND POND) 1938. ESTIMATE UPON REQUEST.

Modern Art Evening Sale l 31 March

Sotheby’s is honoured to offer Berge und Teich, a spectacular and exceptionally rare work by the renowned Russian-born German artist, Walter Spies. A hallmark of Indonesian art history, this museum-quality work will be presented along with a compendium of outstanding pieces that showcase Southeast Asian abstract and figurative approaches.

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TANAKA ATSUKO, 1986 C, 1986. ESTIMATE HK$1,800,000–2,800,000.

Contemporary Art | 1 April

The Contemporary Art day sale offers an exciting selection of works by celebrated artists, including an expanded range of works by Western masters and rising stars, in addition to a selection of rare Yayoi Kusama print works from the 1980s.

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NGUYEN VAN TY, VIETNAMESE WOMEN IN NATURE, 1942. ESTIMATE HK$600,000–900,000.

Modern & Contemporary Southeast Asian Art | 1 April

Sotheby’s presents an impressive selection of modern and contemporary works by the region’s prominent artists, demonstrating the many diverse expressions of Southeast Asian culture. Highlights of this curated sale include the unparalleled art of Myanmar and fine Vietnamese lacquer, among other exemplars of celebrated modernist movements.

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YUAN YAO, BACK FROM HUNTING. ESTIMATE HK$1,000,000–1,500,000.

Fine Classical Chinese Paintings | 1 April

This sale consists of paintings and calligraphy, including outstanding collections from the Mo Boji family and other Asian private collections. Highlights include Misty Mountains in the Style of Mi Fu by Dong Qichang, which encapsulates the artist’s comprehensive ability in painting, calligraphy and poetry, and Back from Hunting by Yuan Yao, which embodies his typical style on ruled-line painting.

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A FINELY CARVED RHINOCEROS HORN “WINGED DRAGON,” EUROPE, LATE 16TH CENTURY. ESTIMATE HK$8,000,000–9,000,000.

Curiosity IV | 2 April

Our yearly spring cabinet of curiosities auction presents two masterpieces created eight centuries and some 4,000 miles apart, when Tang dynasty China and Renaissance Europe were reaching their respective pinnacles. This singularly beautiful fragmentary limestone figure of Avalokiteshvara standing in most sensuous contrapposto ranks among the finest sculptures from the high Tang period ever to come to the market. And there is nothing comparable to the extraordinary rhinoceros horn dragon carved in Prague toward the late 16th century, either for royal patronage or for the cabinet d’amateur of a great collector, except perhaps for a similarly shaped crystal vase in the Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain.

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VACHERON CONSTANTIN, A WHITE GOLD AND DIAMOND-SET TONNEAU-FORM BRACELET WATCH, KALLA DUCHESSE. ESTIMATE HK$3,800,000–6,000,000.

Important Watches | 2 April

Sotheby’s Hong Kong is proud to present a wide selection of timepieces from our spring 2018 Important Watches sale. The extraordinary collection offered this season includes a fascinating variety of gentlemen’s and ladies’ watches ranging from modern to vintage and from technical to jewellery watches.

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ZHANG DAQIAN, SPECTACULAR MOUNTAINS IN SPRING SNOW; CALLIGRAPHY (A PAIR), 1967, ESTIMATE HK$28,000,000–40,000,000.

Fine Chinese Paintings | 2 April

This spring, the Chinese Paintings department is delighted to present an array of more than 280 exquisite paintings by modern artists. Highlighted in the sale are a number of fresh-to-market pieces, including a magnificent splashed-colour landscape and calligraphy pair by Zhang Daqian in celebration of his friend’s birthday, alongside Studio Amid Majestic Mountains by Huang Binhong from the prestigious Mo Boji Family Collection. Also featured in the sale are Scholars Trekking in Snow Mountains by Fu Baoshi, from the M K Lau Collection; an assemblage of salient paintings by Yu Fei’an from the Goldbell Collection; and works by Zhang Daqian from the collection of his overseas family members.

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“THE CIRCLE OF HEAVEN,” A SUPERB JADEITE BANGLE . ESTIMATE HK$80,000,000–100,000,000.

Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite | 3 April

Exquisite masterpieces by legendary jewellers feature in this sale, alongside an exceptional curation of jewels incorporating rare treasures from nature. A magnificent jadeite bangle and a spectacular 24.70-carat Burmese ruby are complemented by classic period jewels and contemporary designer creations, such as a rare Art Deco-period, Egyptian revival bracelet and an iconic “Zip” necklace/bracelet, both by Van Cleef & Arpels.

Watch Video: First Look: ‘The Circle of Heaven’

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AN IMPORTANT AND SPECTACULAR BURMESE RUBY AND DIAMOND RING. ESTIMATE: HK$82,000,000–92,000,000.

Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite | 3 April

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AN EXCEPTIONALLY FINE AND RARE RUBY-GROUND YANGCAI VASE, QIANLONG SEAL MARK AND PERIOD. ESTIMATE HK$40,000,000–60,000,000.

Important Chinese Art | 3 April

The Important Chinese Art auction is a tightly curated assemblage of fine and rare porcelain and works of art with a particular focus on the Ming and Qing dynasties. Highlights of the sale include two exceptional and unique Qianlong mark and period porcelain vases: a superb ruby-ground yangcai vase produced under the direct supervision of Tang Ying, opulently decorated with luxuriant lotus flowers, and a large yellow-ground and underglaze-blue tianqiuping vase decorated with dragons. The sale also includes a superb Northern Song dynasty junyao bubble bowl and a magnificent double-carved jade screen from the Qianlong period, complete with a lavish champlevé enamel stand.

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AN EXCEPTIONAL AND RARE BLUE AND WHITE “DRAGON” MOONFLASK, QIANLONG SEAL MARK AND PERIOD. ESTIMATE HK$15,000,000–20,000,000.

Imperial Porcelain from a Distinguished Private Collection | 3 April

This sale consists of ten Imperial porcelain pieces assembled by a discerning private collector since the 1980s. Spanning the Yuan to the Qing dynasty, highlights include a rare blue and white “boys” bowl from the Chenghua period and a Qianlong reign-marked blue and white “dragon” moonflask.

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A SUPERBLY ENAMELLED, FINE AND EXCEEDINGLY RARE PINK-GROUND FALANGCAI BOWL, PUCE-ENAMEL YUZHI MARK AND PERIOD OF KANGXI. ESTIMATE UPON REQUEST.

Imperial Alchemy – The H.M. Knight Falangcai Bowl | 3 April

This magnificently enamelled pink-ground bowl is without question the finest example of its type and the only recorded version with this design. There exists, however, a closely related example, the pride of the National Palace Museum in Taipei, which is painted with different flowers but uses the exact same colour ground. Given the rarity of the colours used and the perfection of the firing, it is likely that the two were painted and fired side by side. Thrown and fired by potters at the Imperial kilns in Jingdezhen, the bowls were then painted in the Imperial Palace workshops in the Forbidden City in Beijing, possibly by Jesuit residents at the court of the Kangxi Emperor, and fired a second time. The present bowl once belonged to the celebrated collector Henry M. Knight and has not been seen on the market for more than 30 years.

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QIAN WEICHENG, TEN AUSPICIOUS LANDSCAPES OF TAISHAN. ESTIMATE HK$50,000,000–70,000,000.

A Rediscovered Imperial Heirloom – Ten Auspicious Landscapes of Taishan by Qian Weicheng | 3 April

This highly important handscroll is the greatest masterpiece of the renowned Imperial court painter Qian Weicheng, which has re-emerged after a hundred years. Qian Weicheng, the highest-ranking candidate in the official examinations, was a favourite of the Qianlong Emperor and was always selected to accompany him on official inspection tours. The Ten Auspicious Landscapes of Taishan by Qian, depicting ten landscapes, is not only recorded in The Sequel to The Precious Collection of the Stone Canal Pavilion, but also inscribed with ten poems written by the Emperor. These record his appreciation of the landscapes and commemorate his favoured artist. The present scroll, originally kept in the Ningshou Gong of the Forbidden City, was given by the last Emperor, Pu Yi, to his younger brother, Pu Jie, in the early 1920s.

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TWO SETS OF HIGHLY IMPORTANT, EXCEEDINGLY RARE AND SUMPTUOUSLY BROCADED LEPORELLO ALBUMS OF ILLUMINATED WISDOM SUTRA COMMISSIONED BY IMPERIAL ORDER AND SUPERVISED BY HUIJIN, MING DYNASTY, XUANDE PERIOD; EXECUTION IN LIQUID GOLD ON INDIGO-COLOURED GOAT-BRAIN RITUAL PAPER. ESTIMATE UPON REQUEST

The Lost Wisdom Sutra — A Treasure from the Golden Age of Xuande | 3 April

The most important Chinese manuscript ever to have appeared at auction, this outstanding historical relic of the Xuande period is preserved in pristine condition. Comprising ten extraordinarily high-quality albums of the Prajnaparamita Sutra (Perfection of Transcendent Wisdom), created by Imperial order and inscribed by the Emperor’s appointed monk Huijin – utilising the esoteric technique of liquid gold on indigo-coloured goat-brain ritual paper – this rare artefact represents a priceless legacy of the Golden Age of the Ming dynasty and the only surviving example outside of the National Palace Museum in Taipei. Originally recorded in a Kyoto aristocratic collection in 1917 and later in the collections of Fujio Fujii and Colonel Thomas Phillips III, it remained out of sight until the groundbreaking Ming exhibition at the British Museum in 2014.

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AN EXCEPTIONAL AND LARGE WHITE JADE BRUSHWASHER, QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD. ESTIMATE HK$12,000,000–15,000,000.

Gems of Chinese Art from the Speelman Collection I | 3 April

This spectacular collection features a kaleidoscopic range of materials encompassing the full scope and dynamic artistry of the Ming and Qing Imperial courts. The highlights of the sale are an important early Ming cloisonné jar, the pendant to the famous example in the Uldry collection, and an exceptional Qianlong white jade brushwasher, originally in the collection of Stanley Charles Nott. The sale also includes arguably the most comprehensive assemblage of Qing Imperial hardstone carvings ever to appear at auction, all of superb quality, the majority preserved with their original Imperial stands.

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PIERRE BONNARD, MARTHE ET SON CHIEN ASSISE DEVANT UNE TABLE, CIRCA 1930.

Panorama: A New Perspective | 29 March–3 April | Selling Exhibition

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Sotheby’s is pleased to present Panorama: A New Perspective, a major selling exhibition of paintings and sculptures highlighting some of the most original and influential artists of the 19th and 20th centuries. The exhibition traces the aesthetic development of Modern art throughout Europe to the US, and toward the contemporary abstract art that was informed by these predecessors. This spring in Hong Kong, Sotheby’s will bring together more than twenty world-class examples by fifteen artists, presenting unique insight into Modern masters and contemporary titans.

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PABLO PICASSO, MAYA AU BATEAU (MAYA WITH THE BOAT), 1938.

Face-Off: Picasso / Condo | 16–31 March | Selling Exhibition

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Face-Off: Picasso / Condo, an S|2 selling exhibition in Hong Kong, presents two major artists from two distinctly different periods. Acting as an artistic conversation as well as an exploration of the artists’ strong influences on the genre of Western portrait paintings, the exhibition also includes major works on loan from key collectors. A rare event not to be missed.

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SOTHEBY’S DIAMONDS, CHANDELIER PENDANT EARRINGS, EACH EARRING CENTRING THREE PEAR-SHAPED DIF DIAMONDS AND TWO ROUND BRILLIANT-CUT DIF DIAMONDS, TOTALLING 10.94 CARATS, SET IN 18-KARAT ROSE GOLD AND 18-KARAT WHITE GOLD.

Sotheby’s Diamonds Presents Two Selling Exhibitions

In a series of selling exhibitions, Sotheby’s Diamonds is proud to present the Asian debut of Eliane Fattal’s stunning jewellery creations, antique jewels re-imagined into contemporary masterpieces, and S.J. Phillips, one of the oldest antique jewellers in London. Alongside each of these two selling exhibitions, Sotheby’s very own collection of exceptional diamond jewellery, Sotheby’s Diamonds, will be presented. This pioneering venture brings together the most exceptional diamonds, cutting-edge design and superlative craftsmanship in a very modern, forward-looking house. The diverse offerings celebrate the intertwined worlds of antique and modern jewellery, offering something for everyone.

Sotheby’s Diamonds & Eliane Fattal | 25–27 March

Sotheby’s Diamonds & S.J. Phillips | 29 March–2 April

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JOSÉ-MARÍA CANO, WS100 “PANSY HO,” 2017.

Game Changers: José-María Cano | 29 March–2 April | Selling Exhibition

The S|2 selling exhibition Game Changers: José-María Cano showcases the artist’s two
best-known series, WS100 and The Soul of Money, both created using traditional wax-painting techniques. With these works, the artist shares his thoughts
on capitalism and its impact on human civilisation.

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