Art market sets records as buyers chalk up multimillion-dollar sales

Hong Kong's art market has shrugged off volatile financial markets to score new highs, with several records set at auctions and multimillion-dollar sales at ART HK over the past week.

Christie's had its first 'white glove auction' for any evening sale in Asia at Saturday night's Asian contemporary and Chinese 20th century art sale at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, achieving a 100 per cent sell-through rate, with all 36 lots sold. The sale fetched a total of HK$303 million, three times more than was estimated.

Chen Yifei's String Quartet, sold for HK$61.1 million to an Asian trade buyer, was the night's top lot, also setting a world auction record for the artist. Andy Warhol's Mao, the first Western contemporary art piece Christie's brought to an Asian sale, fetched HK$6.62 million, above the highest estimate of HK$5 million.

The 340 lots sold under the fine Chinese classical paintings category on Friday fetched a record HK$426.7 million, with 70 per cent of them snapped up by mainland buyers.

Christie's Asia managing director Jonathan Stone said recent fluctuations of the financial markets and economic jitters in Europe had not hurt the art market, which was experiencing a strong recovery led by Asia.

Bonhams' spring sale achieved a record high, fetching HK$127 million. The 140 Chinese snuff bottles from the Mary and George Bloch Collection sold out for HK$66 million on Friday, more than three times higher than presale estimates.