Art lovers are looking forward to over 300 lots of fine Chinese paintings that are estimated to sell for at least HK$200 million at the Sotheby's Hong Kong spring sales.
C.K. Cheung, head of Sotheby's fine Chinese paintings department, says there will be paintings and calligraphies from private collections in Japan on offer, including those by Wu Changshuo and Qi Baishi. Paintings by Fu Baoshi and Zhang Daqian will also be on the block.
The star lot is Qi Baishi's Willows At The Riverside; Begonias (about HK$15 million to HK$20 million). The pair of gold screens depict a Chinese landscape and flowers painted in ink and colour. It was completed in 1922, at the height of Qi's popularity in Japan.
Another highlight is Xu Beihong's most popular subject, the horse. Galloping Horse (about HK$4.2 million to HK$6 million) was dedicated to Dr Joseph Needham, who spent several years in China to enhance Sino-British cultural and scientific exchange.
Zhang Daqian's Snow Storm - Switzerland depicts the scenery he saw during a trip to Switzerland with friends. The work is an innovative example of his style of transforming a mountain blizzard into abstract patterns of rich, vibrant colours.
The hottest work of contemporary Asian art up for auction is Bloodline - Big Family: Family No. 2 (about HK$25 million to HK$35 million), the earliest work from Zhang Xiaogang's Bloodline series offered at any auction.
Also on offer is 1993 No. 4 by Fang Lijun and A Good Dog by Liu Wei, that are expected to attract intense bidding.