Sotheby's is suing a mainland man for more than HK$27 million over Chinese paintings and scrolls that it says he bought in an April auction in Hong Kong but never paid for.
Sotheby's Hong Kong filed a claim at the High Court against Zhang Bo, of Jinshui district, Henan province, on Saturday.
The auction house says that during the April 3 auction, Zhang bid successfully for 20 lots, including more than a dozen scrolls, as well as works of ink on paper.
It says Zhang should have paid a total of HK$34.13 million for the 20 lots on the day of the auction, but he had not done so.
The sale of two lots has been terminated and Sotheby's is seeking to recover its commission on these and the successful bid price on the others, less a deposit paid by Zhang - a total of HK$27.36 million.
The legal action comes at a time when Chinese art continues to command great attention and auctions have regularly exceeded their predicted hammer prices. The April 3 auction, where 341 lots were offered, more than doubled its pre-sale estimate, bringing in HK$468 million.
The lots that Zhang successfully bid for were variously estimated to reach hammer prices of between HK$50,000 and HK$6 million.