HONG KONG (AFP) – A much-anticipated sale of imperial Chinese porcelain in Hong Kong, billed as one of the world’s greatest collections, has received a tepid response from bidders, with many prized lots unsold.
Sotheby’s Thursday auction of the Meiyintang Collection – 77 pieces of porcelain collected over half a century by a European collector – was expected to be the highlight of its Hong Kong spring sales auction week. Total presale estimates for the collection were put between HK$710 million and HK$1.07 billion (US $91-$137 million) but the collection had fetched about HK$399 million (US $51.3 million) when the hammer fell for the final time.
“There was guarded bidding on some of the top lots,” Nicolas Chow, Sotheby’s International Head of Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Department said in a statement issued late Thursday. “As we have seen all week long, the market sets its own prices,” he added.
The disappointing results raised eyebrows as Chinese art prices have rocketed in recent years, fuelled by China’s economic boom and a steady demand from rich Asian collectors, especially mainland Chinese buyers.
The priciest item on offer Thursday was the Falangcai vase – a Qing Dynasty item decorated with golden pheasants dating back to the 18th century. The vase stopped at HK$170 million (US $2.2 million), HK$10 million (US$1.3 million) short of the reserve price, and thus went unsold. Hours later, Sotheby’s said the vase was sold privately for HK$200 million (US $2.6 million).
The second-most expensive lot, listed as “the blue-and-white ‘palace bowl’ with melons”, was expected to go for at least HK$90 million (US $1.2 million), Sotheby’s said. The highest bid came in at HK$75 million (US $9.7 million), however, and again the item was later sold privately for HK$90 million (US $11.6 million).
Another lot, a set of seven “peach bloom” vessels from the Ming Dynasty period, was expected to fetch more than HK$50 million ($6.4 million). It also failed to sell during the auction.
Among the higher-priced items, a blue-and-white brush washer decorated with the painting of a fish pond was sold for HK$51 million (US $6.6 million), with a presale estimate of HK$40 million to HK$60 million (US $5.1-$7.7 million).
Hong Kong has emerged as the world’s third-largest auction center after New York and London, with the city positioning itself as a wine hub for Asia as well as the gateway to China’s vast market.
Earlier this week, a contemporary Chinese art auction set a new record at a Sotheby’s sale in Hong Kong, when a triptych by Zhang Xiaogang sold for HK$79 million (US $10.2 million).
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