Rare treat for collectors and connoisseurs
Following the success of the autumn sales, which realised the highest total for a series in Hong Kong, Sotheby's stages a series of spring sales covering imperial porcelain, contemporary Asian art, jewellery, watches and fine wines from tomorrow until April 8.
The auctions, at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, will offer more than 3,600 lots, with an estimated value in excess of HK$2.4 billion, that promise to excite the interest of collectors and connoisseurs keen to enhance their collections.
Leading the event are the sales of two private collections of Chinese art from Europe. The Meiyintang Collection - an important selection of imperial Chinese porcelains - is considered one of the grandest of Chinese art formed in the last century. Assembled over 50 years, the collection features excellent examples of imperial porcelain.
Nicolas Chow, deputy chairman, Sotheby's Asia, and international head of Sotheby's Chinese ceramics and works of art department, says: 'Discerning and disciplined, the collector sought only the most significant objects from each reign and worked closely with the foremost experts in the field - leading dealers E.T. Chow and Giuseppe Eskenazi. The result of this patient and learned process is a monumental collection that represents a lifetime's pursuit of the definitive group of Chinese porcelain.'
Estimated to bring HK$710 million to HK$1.07 billion, some 80 items from the 14th to 18th centuries will be up for sale. While there are many exquisite pieces up for auction on April 7, one of the more notable is the fanlangcai or 'foreign colour' vase with golden pheasants painted on it from the Qing dynasty, that is expected to fetch more than HK$180 million.
Other highly prized pieces include an underglaze-red 'chrysanthemum' dish with floral designs from the Ming dynasty, estimated at HK$25 million to HK$35 million, and a blue and white 'dragon' bottle vase (yuhuchun ping) with dragon from the Yuan dynasty, estimated to be valued at HK$8 million to HK$12 million.