HONG KONG, July 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Commenting
on the 2016 first half year results, Kevin Ching, Chief Executive Officer of
Sotheby's Asia, says: 'We are
delighted by the exceptional half year results that reached 22%
over last year. After more than four decades in Asia, Sotheby's maintains an unrivalled
ability to source the finest and rarest objects from notable
collections around the world – a critical element to our success.
Longstanding relationships with seasoned collectors worldwide
led to a number of important consignments – from the Pilkington
Collection of Chinese ceramics, to Zhang Daqian's Peach
Blossom Spring, to the
Mi Yun Hall Collection of Classical
Chinese Paintings – that drove remarkable results across collecting
categories.
'We are further encouraged by the growing presence of Asian
collectors in our worldwide salerooms, where they are pushing the
market forward – evidenced by their active participation in recent
major sales of Contemporary Art in New
York and London, among so
many others,' Mr. Ching added.
AUCTION
Results Beyond Expectations
Sotheby's Asia 2016 first half
year results defied markets and beat expectations, reaching the
highest levels in several seasons. In the first six months of
2016, Sotheby's auction sales in Asia achieved HK$3.6
billion / US$461.5
million[1], a season high total among international
auction houses in the region. This represents a 22%
increase on the same period last year and 145% above
the total pre-sale low estimate. More than 80% of lots
sold attained prices at or above their
mid-estimate.
Setting Benchmarks Across Categories
In the first six months of 2016 in Asia, Sotheby's sold three works of art for
more than HK$100 million and set
sixteen world auction records, capped by the masterwork from
Zhang Daqian's later period, Peach Blossom Spring, which sparked a 50-minute
bidding battle that resulted in the work selling at HK$270.68 million / US$34.9 million, the highest price paid for any
work of art at Sotheby's Hong Kong
this season. Sotheby's continues its strong market leadership in
Chinese Works of Art, which achieved a half-year auction total of
more than HK$1 billion / US$130 million.
Global Participation
Extraordinary objects and collections drew the attention of
collectors around the globe. Sotheby's attracted
participation of collectors from 65 countries. Particularly
strong bidding was evident throughout Asia, including among Mainland Chinese
collectors seeking rarity, quality and opportunity. Asian private
collectors dominated Sotheby's jewellery sales in Hong Kong, accounting for over 80% of the
hammer total; they also established a much more significant
presence in Sotheby's worldwide jewellery sales, with the share of
buyer hammer from Asian private clients more than doubling in the
first half of 2016.
The Company continues to expand its client base, and 23%
of buyers were new to Sotheby's.
Asian Collectors: Eye on Top Lots
Asia-based clients were eager
to compete at the top end of the art market. Among the top 20 lots
auctioned by Sotheby's worldwide in the first half of 2016, 8
lots were bought by buyers from Asia (40%) and 12 lots attracted buyers
or bidders from Asia (60%).
Continued Growth of Asian Interest in Western Art
Asian collectors' interest in Western art continues to deepen,
proven by their expanding presence in Sotheby's salerooms
worldwide. Several selling categories, including 19th Century
Paintings, Old Master Paintings, Impressionist and Modern Art,
Contemporary Art as well as 20th Century Design, saw an increase in
Asian buyers in the first half of 2016. The total number of
Asian clients buying Western art at Sotheby's grew by
12%.
Among the top ten lots in Sotheby's London Contemporary Evening
Sale in June, four were sold to Asian buyers, including the
top lot – Jenny Saville's
Shift – that went to Shanghai's Long Museum for a record £6.8
million. At New York's May Evening Sale of Contemporary Art,
Christopher Wool's Untitled
sold for US$13.9 million to Japanese
collector, Yusaku Maezawa. In
Hong Kong, Sotheby's was thrilled to end the first half of the year
with the sale, for first time ever at auction, of a complete set of
24 Picasso silver plates to a Japanese collector for a strong price
of HK$19.88 million / US$2.5 million.
SELLING EXHIBITIONS
Sotheby's continues to engage new and existing clients through
uniquely curated exhibitions, lectures and art programmes. In the
first half of 2016, Sotheby's held four exhibitions showcasing
diverse genres of art, including Sotheby's first large-scale
showcase of contemporary art by Hong
Kong artists, Next Destination: Hong Kong; its first street art exhibition
in Asia, They Would Be
Kings, curated by Steve
Lazarides and for which Sotheby's gallery was playfully
turned into a New York subway
station; Asian Design: China,
Japan, Korea, featuring a
special section dedicated to KANJIAN; and Zheng Chongbin:
Structures, an exhibition of unconventional ink art works by
the American-Chinese artist.
EARLY HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE SECOND HALF OF
2016
*Further details to be announced*
Selling Exhibition ︳Ming Ma: The Artist Upstairs
25 August – 2 September 2016 – Sotheby's Hong Kong
Gallery
Sotheby's will present more than 50 portraits and illustrations
from local artist Ming Ma at its
Hong Kong Gallery. Ming thrives on the expression of the fine
details of beauty and despair in our society, and is renowned for
the exaggerated and unusual character profiles in his portraits. A
longtime illustrator for filmmaker Yon
Fan's publications and his magazine column, The Artist
Upstairs, Ming's collaborations with the filmmaker emphasise a
particular scene and moment in time with Yon's poetic inscriptions
completing each work as a unique backdrop.
Hong Kong Auction Preview ︳Bowie /
Collector
12 – 15 October
2016 – Sotheby's Hong Kong Gallery
This November, Sotheby's will stage Bowie/Collector, a
three-part sale encompassing some 400 items from the private
collection of legendary musician David
Bowie. At the heart of which is a remarkable group of works
by many of the most important British artists of the 20th Century,
including Frank Auerbach,
Damien Hirst, Henry Moore and Graham
Sutherland. Selected highlights from the Collection
will travel to Hong Kong as part
of the preview world tour, giving fans and collectors in
Asia an unprecedented opportunity
to appreciate the art and objects that informed Bowie's private
world.
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[1] Figures include sale totals for Spring sale series and
mid-season sales in Hong Kong.
Sotheby's has been uniting collectors with world-class
works of art since 1744. Sotheby's became the first international
auction house when it expanded from London to New
York (1955), the first to conduct sales in Hong Kong (1973), India (1992) and France (2001), and the first international
fine art auction house in China
(2012). Today, Sotheby's presents auctions in nine different
salesrooms, including New York,
London, Hong Kong and Paris, and Sotheby's BidNow program allows
visitors to view all auctions live online and place bids in
real-time from anywhere in the world. Sotheby's offers collectors
the resources of Sotheby's Financial Services, the world's only
full-service art financing company, as well as private sale
opportunities in more than 70 categories, including S|2, the
gallery arm of Sotheby's Contemporary Art department, and two
retail businesses, Sotheby's Diamonds and Sotheby's Wine. Sotheby's
has a global network of 80 offices in 40 countries and is the
oldest company listed on the New York Stock Exchange
(BID).
Hong Kong | Winnie Tang | +852 2822 8129 |
winnie.tang@sothebys.com |
New York | Lauren Gioia | lauren.gioia@sothebys.com |
London | Mitzi Mina |
mitzi.mina@sothebys.com
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