Sotheby's raises $263 mln in Hong Kong art, wine sale

The event's revenue, with fees, compares with a presale low estimate of HK$1.6 billion at hammer prices. The figure was boosted by highlights such as the HK$34.3 million paid for a painting by Indonesian artist Lee Man Fong, the most for a Southeast Asian artist, Bloomberg reports.  

"There might have been a fear of it all collapsing but in fact people are more selective," Daniel Eskenazi, a London-based dealer, said in an interview.

In last year's Sotheby's autumn marathon, which lasted a day longer, the New York-based auction house raised HK$3.2 billion. Its Hong Kong sale in April raised HK$2.46 billion.

A pair of Qianlong-era double-gourd vases sold for HK$107 million yesterday, nearly twice their presale high estimate, proving that rarity still attracted keen bidding.

A 1992 painting by Chinese artist Liu Wei, entitled "Revolutionary Family Series-Invitation to Dinner," sold for HK$17.46 million, setting a record for the artist. The work hung for many years in David Tang's China Club in Hong Kong.

A work by Zhang Xiaogang fetched HK$20.8 million, while three other of his works went unsold, as did paintings by top- selling contemporary Chinese artists Zeng Fanzhi and Yue Minjun.

Details also at http://www.bloomberg.com/