https://www.scmp.com/rss/521754/feed The latest news and top stories on Sotheby’s. A leading entity in the art auction and luxury goods sector, British-founded Sotheby’s is headquartered in New York City, USA, with a global network spanning 40 countries including a significant presence in Hong Kong. It specialises in brokering fine art, jewellery, collectibles and luxury real estate through auctions and private sales. Primarily serving high-net-worth individuals and institutions, Sotheby’s is renowned for its expertise, global... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Lisa Cam Lisa Cam Walnuts have been setting social media ablaze – no, really. TikTok and Instagram users have been trying to “turn walnuts into jade” by rhythmically twirling two walnuts in one hand until the nuts take on a polished, jade-like texture. An Instagram reel shared on March 31 by Jessie Jacobson (@growithjessie), who is experimenting with hand-rolling her walnuts and putting another two in a rock tumbler, has more than 8 million views to date. It is the latest iteration of the “Chinamaxxing” or... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3349592/turning-walnuts-jade-tiktok-instagram-go-nuts-over-ancient-chinese-tradition?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3349592/turning-walnuts-jade-tiktok-instagram-go-nuts-over-ancient-chinese-tradition?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Apr 2026 23:15:10 +0000 Enid Tsui Enid Tsui White gloves are traditionally given to an auctioneer if every single lot in a sale finds a buyer, a ceremonial touch that adds to the drama of these infrequent events. In March, during Hong Kong art week, the city saw two “white glove” auctions, which certainly raised hope that its multi-year auction market slump is finally over. The first of these milestone events occurred on March 27, when Christie’s 20th/21st Century Evening Sale was 100 per cent sold. The auction was led by Gerhard... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3349243/sold-out-auctions-suggest-hong-kongs-art-market-back-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3349243/sold-out-auctions-suggest-hong-kongs-art-market-back-it?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Apr 2026 23:15:10 +0000 Wilson Lau Wilson Lau Hong Kong’s art auctions in 2025 saw a shift to quality and selectivity, with Picasso and Nara works leading high-profile sales. Hong Kong’s live auction market opened 2025 with a striking sense of momentum, defined by breadth, competition and a confident interplay between modern, contemporary and classical Chinese art. By autumn, however, that early exuberance had evolved into something more deliberate. A maturing market – buoyed by regional optimism yet sharpened by global realities – shifted... https://www.scmp.com/special-reports/article/3348602/how-picasso-and-nara-are-driving-hong-kongs-live-art-auctions-record-highs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/special-reports/article/3348602/how-picasso-and-nara-are-driving-hong-kongs-live-art-auctions-record-highs?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Apr 2026 23:00:07 +0000 Gavin Yeung Gavin Yeung I WAS BORN outside Philadelphia and I lived a typical American East Coast suburban childhood. My grandparents had a business selling African violets, so we would help out in the greenhouses on school holidays. It wasn’t so much art, but it was very much about putting something beautiful into people’s lives. I WENT TO an all-boys’ Jesuit high school in Philadelphia, then I went to Duke University, in North Carolina, as an undergrad. My major was literature and history, but I started to study... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/passions/article/3348136/philip-tinari-his-journey-through-art-and-culture-and-tai-kwuns-potential?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/passions/article/3348136/philip-tinari-his-journey-through-art-and-culture-and-tai-kwuns-potential?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2026 22:00:12 +0000 Aidyn Fitzpatrick Aidyn Fitzpatrick Hong Kong’s Art Month calendar is crowded, but every so often a show cuts through the noise. This spring, that role falls to “Beyond the Abstract”, a landmark exhibition at Sotheby’s Maison in Chater House that attempts something unusually ambitious: a survey of abstraction across cultures and spanning 3,000 years. Running until March 27, the exhibition brings together painting, sculpture, works on paper and historic objects that trace a dialogue across the centuries, from ancient artefacts to... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/lifestyle/design/article/3347819/style-edit-sothebys-maps-3000-years-abstraction-landmark-hong-kong-show?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/lifestyle/design/article/3347819/style-edit-sothebys-maps-3000-years-abstraction-landmark-hong-kong-show?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Mar 2026 02:00:09 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A triceratops skeleton that stood in a Wyoming museum for decades will be auctioned off, a rare instance of a museum-exhibited dinosaur going to the auction block just as the market for the prehistoric giants has hit record highs. The fossil, dubbed “Trey”, will be open for bidding from March 17 to 31 on Joopiter, an online auction platform founded by Grammy-winning artist and producer Pharrell Williams. It has a pre-auction estimate of US$4.5 million to US$5.5 million. Dating back more than 66... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345186/triceratops-skeleton-trey-hit-auction-block-dinosaur-market-soars?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345186/triceratops-skeleton-trey-hit-auction-block-dinosaur-market-soars?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Mar 2026 18:02:53 +0000 Cheung Hok-hang Cheung Hok-hang Qatar, a gas-powered Gulf state, has long punched well above its weight. The Islamic country is a major diplomatic player on the world stage, mediating conflicts ranging from Gaza ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas to peace negotiations between the Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. The Gulf nation’s state-funded broadcaster, Al Jazeera, has wielded huge international influence through its reporting, while its recent hosting of mega-sporting events – headlined by the 2022 Fifa World Cup –... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3343686/doha-middle-easts-next-art-hub-city-aims-high-art-basel-qatar-new-museums?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3343686/doha-middle-easts-next-art-hub-city-aims-high-art-basel-qatar-new-museums?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Feb 2026 09:15:07 +0000 Reuters,dpa,Gloria Tso Reuters,dpa,Gloria Tso This season, the women’s ready-to-wear Big Four circuit kicked off on February 11 in New York, ‍and there’s an exciting array of debuts, returns and reinvention in store. The week opened with a high-profile show: Rachel Scott’s official debut at Proenza Schouler, following her midseason arrival last year, when she stepped in to refine work already under way. In her show notes, Scott wrote of keeping a “proximity to art” and “an edge sharpened by the city”. This manifested in lightly rumpled... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/fashion-news/article/3343690/whats-hot-new-york-fashion-week-calvin-klein-coach-and-michael-kors?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/fashion-news/article/3343690/whats-hot-new-york-fashion-week-calvin-klein-coach-and-michael-kors?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Feb 2026 04:21:34 +0000 Kylie Knott Kylie Knott One of the most popular arts stories of 2025 shone a light on Hong Kong pianist Aristo Sham, who in June was named the winner of the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Shedding a less positive light on Hong Kong was a story about why so many classical music stars are skipping Hong Kong for other Chinese cities. A story about Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor – who became famous after a British king abdicated to wed her – also struck a chord. Here we look back at seven of... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3337980/7-best-arts-stories-2025-new-labubu-prize-winning-hong-kong-pianist?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3337980/7-best-arts-stories-2025-new-labubu-prize-winning-hong-kong-pianist?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Dec 2025 08:15:08 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse British street artist Banksy unveiled his latest work in central London on Monday amid speculation over an identical second work which has appeared elsewhere in the city. The black and white mural painted on the side of an old building in Bayswater shows two people, probably children, in winter hats and Wellington boots lying down, looking up and pointing to the sky. Banksy, whose real identity has not been revealed, posted an image of the work on his official Instagram account on Monday. A... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3337392/uk-street-artist-banksy-unveils-latest-mural-central-london?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3337392/uk-street-artist-banksy-unveils-latest-mural-central-london?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Dec 2025 17:29:02 +0000 Enid Tsui Enid Tsui Global collectors have given auction houses a Christmas present: a projected uptick in full-year revenue that marks a reversal from recent years of decline. The “Big Three” – Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips – have reported a combined projected total revenue of US$14.1 billion for 2025, up roughly 10 per cent from 2024. “The first half was solid and stable. I feel even better at the end of the year, as a great second half gave us an even stronger finish,” Christie’s CEO Bonnie Brennan told the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3337313/big-3-auction-houses-report-uptick-2025-revenue-asia-still-lagging?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3337313/big-3-auction-houses-report-uptick-2025-revenue-asia-still-lagging?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Dec 2025 09:24:17 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Malaysia is set to receive 12 pieces of fine art – including works by Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro and Henri Matisse – after discussions with US officials to repatriate assets tied to the global corruption scandal at 1MDB. The works are being held by Christie’s and Sotheby’s auction houses in the United States and estimated to have a combined value of over US$30 million, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said in a statement on Saturday. They were purchased by Jasmine Loo, a former... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3336454/malaysia-get-back-us30-million-worth-fine-art-linked-1mdb-scandal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3336454/malaysia-get-back-us30-million-worth-fine-art-linked-1mdb-scandal?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Dec 2025 06:33:51 +0000 Divia Harilela Divia Harilela Like almost every other arena of design, the world of interiors has long been lured by the beauty and power of the animal kingdom. Displaying hunted animals goes back centuries to the days when hanging skins was viewed as a status symbol. Royals and other elites even chose specific animals depending on the characteristics and traits they supposedly represented. While real skins have thankfully fallen out of vogue, interior designers are still enticed by a walk on the wild side, using animal... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/lifestyle/design/article/3333891/animal-print-interiors-how-embrace-your-wild-side-while-keeping-it-classy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/lifestyle/design/article/3333891/animal-print-interiors-how-embrace-your-wild-side-while-keeping-it-classy?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Nov 2025 10:00:14 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A haunting 1940 self-portrait by famed Mexican artist Frida Kahlo sold Thursday for US$54.7 million and became the top-selling work by any female artist at an auction. The painting of Kahlo asleep in a bed — titled “El sueno (La cama)” or in English, “The Dream (The Bed)” — surpassed the record held by Georgia O’Keeffe’s “Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1,” which sold for US$44.4 million in 2014. The sale at Sotheby’s in New York also topped Kahlo’s own auction record for a work by a Latin American... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3333774/frida-kahlos-self-portrait-sold-us547m-breaks-auction-record-female-artists?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3333774/frida-kahlos-self-portrait-sold-us547m-breaks-auction-record-female-artists?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Nov 2025 04:18:21 +0000 Wilson Lau Wilson Lau Market resilience was on full display at Hong Kong’s autumn live jewellery auctions, with leading auction houses reporting enthusiastic paddle activity and strong results. Successes were widely attributed to the exceptional quality of lots on offer as well as meticulously curated catalogues that appealed to collectors. The recent strong sales have continued the momentum from this year’s spring auctions as well as those of autumn 2024. Overall, auction performance over the past two years has... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/jewellery/article/3332445/record-sales-hong-kongs-autumn-jewellery-auctions-sothebys-and-christies-phillips?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/jewellery/article/3332445/record-sales-hong-kongs-autumn-jewellery-auctions-sothebys-and-christies-phillips?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Nov 2025 22:00:09 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg British police have seized more than £12 million (US$15.6 million) of dinosaur skeletons after agreeing to a settlement with a Chinese national suspected of being part of a huge money-laundering scandal. Su Binghai agreed to forfeit three complete fossilised skeletons, along with nine London apartments, bought for around £15 million, but he will be able to keep 25 per cent of all the sale proceeds, a lawyer for the National Crime Agency said at a court hearing on Tuesday. Su was previously... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3331692/uk-seizes-us15-million-dinosaur-bones-money-laundering-suspect-su-binghai?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3331692/uk-seizes-us15-million-dinosaur-bones-money-laundering-suspect-su-binghai?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Nov 2025 18:47:45 +0000 dpa dpa A diamond brooch owned and abandoned by Napoleon Bonaparte after the Battle of Waterloo will go up for auction for the first time. The brooch, made of nearly 100 diamonds, was left behind after the emperor fled Waterloo’s battlefield to return to Paris, and was given to the king of Prussia three days later as part of the trophies his armies took back. The Battle of Waterloo, in 1815, was Napoleon’s final defeat. The brooch will go under the hammer for the first time in Sotheby’s The Royal and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3330275/diamond-brooch-abandoned-defeated-napoleon-1815-go-sale?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3330275/diamond-brooch-abandoned-defeated-napoleon-1815-go-sale?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Oct 2025 14:55:50 +0000 Divia Harilela Divia Harilela Leather has always played a starring role in the history of luxury brands, from Hermès’ beginnings as a saddle maker, to Prada’s first collection of leather handbags launched in 1913. With a luxe feel yet also durable, this functional material has long been prized for its beauty and versatility, making it the perfect foundation for a range of items from luggage to small goods and accessories. While leather goods are available across various price points, a small group of luxury brands have taken... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/trends/article/3328937/signature-leathers-and-luxury-brands-shaped-them-louis-vuitton-chanel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/trends/article/3328937/signature-leathers-and-luxury-brands-shaped-them-louis-vuitton-chanel?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Oct 2025 20:00:10 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg It was only the first day of Rolliefest on September 26, and grown men were already emotional. “This is a room of my favourite people,” actor, director and watch aficionado Fred Savage gushed to me on the day. The room in question was not small. More than 200 watch geeks had gathered in the entrance hall to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the beloved watch show-and-tell. These were the crème de la crème of global horology, all dressed up, flicking their wrists so their brethren could get a... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/watches/article/3328822/why-rolliefest-horology-fanatics-favourite-time-year-vintage-rolexes-universal-geneve-watches-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/watches/article/3328822/why-rolliefest-horology-fanatics-favourite-time-year-vintage-rolexes-universal-geneve-watches-and?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Oct 2025 04:00:07 +0000 Jiang Chuqin Jiang Chuqin Chris Hall, a 73-year-old Chinese textile collector, often jokingly called himself the “youngest thing in this flat,” as he lived surrounded by antiques and vintage art from around the world in his residence on The Peak in Hong Kong. However, the accountant by profession has decided to donate his entire collection of 3,000 Chinese textiles and his home to the Hong Kong Palace Museum over a 10-year period ending in 2034, at the West Kowloon Cultural District, citing his bachelor status and... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3327908/legacy-preserved-collectors-chinese-textile-passion-live-hong-kong-museum?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3327908/legacy-preserved-collectors-chinese-textile-passion-live-hong-kong-museum?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Oct 2025 06:57:27 +0000 Enid Tsui Enid Tsui The art market downturn continued to play out at Christie’s, Phillips and Sotheby’s regional headquarters in Hong Kong this past weekend, with the turnover from back-to-back art auctions loitering at an eight-year low. But a handful of records and some last-minute withdrawals – which improved the success ratio of the sales – helped inject long-missing vigour into the sales room during the seasonal marquee modern and contemporary art evening sales, which saw around 100 high-value artworks go... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3327393/hong-kong-autumn-2025-art-auctions-see-lowest-combined-turnover-8-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3327393/hong-kong-autumn-2025-art-auctions-see-lowest-combined-turnover-8-years?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Oct 2025 08:15:08 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Hong Kong property tycoon Albert Yeung is selling a wine collection valued at more than HK$10 million (US$1.3 million) in a public auction. The 82-year-old chairman of Emperor Group is offering 426 bottles of fine wine at Sotheby’s on September 10, according to the auction house’s website. The collection, titled “The Majestic Cellar of Dr Albert Yeung,” includes selections from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Petrus and Château Palmer. “This is not a high-volume cellar, but one with an emphasis on... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/passions/article/3323622/hong-kong-property-mogul-albert-yeung-auctioning-his-us13-million-wine-collection?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/passions/article/3323622/hong-kong-property-mogul-albert-yeung-auctioning-his-us13-million-wine-collection?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 Aug 2025 09:00:08 +0000 Paul French Paul French Beloved by children, parents, aunties and grandparents alike, this tall, thin, bespectacled and mustachioed gentleman clad in traditional Chinese attire seems to have emerged straight out of the Qing dynasty to observe, under his furrowed brow, the boomtown Hong Kong has become. Old Master Q (老夫子) is too honest, too trusting, too kind for the city’s dog-eat-dog ways, but one who always gets up and dusts himself off. After first appearing in February 1962, the manhua art, or Chinese-language... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3321945/how-legacy-beloved-hong-kong-comic-strip-old-master-q-lives?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3321945/how-legacy-beloved-hong-kong-comic-strip-old-master-q-lives?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Aug 2025 22:15:08 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The recent auction of a Martian meteorite – for a record-grabbing US$5.3 million at Sotheby’s New York – has sparked questions over its provenance and renewed debate over who gets to claim rocks fallen from the heavens. The hefty 25kg (55lbs) stone is the largest Martian meteorite ever discovered on Earth, according to its Sotheby’s listing, and was found in November 2023 in the vast Saharan Desert in Niger. The government of Niger has announced that it will open an investigation following the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3321704/it-belongs-niger-us53-million-mars-meteorite-hit-provenance-row?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3321704/it-belongs-niger-us53-million-mars-meteorite-hit-provenance-row?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Aug 2025 07:51:31 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse India has recovered a set of relics linked to early Buddhism more than a century after they were removed from the country during the British colonial period, officials said on Wednesday. The Piprahwa gems date back to around the third century BC and were unearthed in 1898 by Englishman William Claxton Peppe in northern India. India’s culture ministry said it secured the return of the gems, which had been slated for auction in Hong Kong in May, in partnership with Mumbai-based conglomerate Godrej... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3320224/ancient-buddhist-gems-returned-india-after-their-hong-kong-auction-stopped?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3320224/ancient-buddhist-gems-returned-india-after-their-hong-kong-auction-stopped?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 31 Jul 2025 03:45:04 +0000 Lisa Cam Lisa Cam Over the last 10 years, rare whisky has seen significant price increases and fluctuations, with some bottles fetching millions at auction. But what is in the bottle is not all that matters. These days, packaging plays an important role in determining the value of a rare vintage, according to Jonny Fowle, global head of spirits at Sotheby’s auction house. “Presentation in whisky is a key factor,” he says. Unlike wine, whisky can maintain its condition even when placed on a display shelf in a... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3319532/how-rare-whiskys-box-can-bump-its-value-and-makers-getting-creative?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3319532/how-rare-whiskys-box-can-bump-its-value-and-makers-getting-creative?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Jul 2025 04:15:08 +0000 Kamala Thiagarajan Kamala Thiagarajan Few people know that the great auction houses of the United States and Europe are not only some of the world’s largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery and collectibles, they are also catering to the booming demand for prehistoric fossils. Auction houses are involved in selling these specimens to rich private collectors. Last week, a juvenile specimen of Ceratosaurus nasicornis, one of four skeletons of the ancient species known to exist, was auctioned off by Sotheby’s for US$30.5... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3319007/blockbuster-auctions-dinosaur-skeletons-dont-do-science-any-favours?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3319007/blockbuster-auctions-dinosaur-skeletons-dont-do-science-any-favours?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Jul 2025 08:30:09 +0000 Enoch Yiu Enoch Yiu Hong Kong needs to offer more tax benefits for vintage cars and other incentives to turn the city into a major base for storing and trading art, with an eye on building up its pool of industry talent and service providers, according to Sotheby’s former top executive in the region. While the city is among the top three global art auction and trading hubs, it still lacked some ingredients to build upon, especially talent in art storage, authentication and repair, said Patti Wong, co-founder and... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3318791/hong-kong-needs-offer-more-tax-breaks-enhance-art-trading-hub-status-expert-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3318791/hong-kong-needs-offer-more-tax-breaks-enhance-art-trading-hub-status-expert-says?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Jul 2025 04:01:07 +0000