Hong Kong

WHAT the latest Asian auction series in Hong Kong lacked in terms of headline-grabbing 18th century Imperial blockbusters, it more than made up for in solid performances across the board.

DEUTSCHE Bank have signed a five-year deal to sponsor ART HK, the Hong Kong art fair which launched in 2008.

SOTHEBY’S latest Hong Kong Asian series saw mainland Chinese buyers come of age in the field of Imperial Chinese art.

In terms of the bottom line, Christie’s latest Hong Kong HK$1.07bn (£83.5m) premium-inclusive Asian series was a far cry from the firm’s record-breaking HK$2.4bn (then £162.2m) extravaganza last year.

SOTHEBY’S Hong Kong spring sales series of classical, modern and contemporary Asian art, wine, jewellery and watches from April 4 to 8 were not as financially rewarding for the firm as in recent times.

The Chinese ceramics and works of art market is undergoing a price readjustment after a decade of unfettered growth, a trend highlighted at the latest Asian sales series staged at Christie's Hong Kong.

A gold pattern Chinese coin picturing Chang Tso Lin (1875-1928) was dubbed 'one of the rarest coins in the world' by A.H. Baldwin & Sons and Ma Tak Wo Numismatic Co Ltd who offered it for sale in Hong Kong on August 28.

SOTHEBY’S have announced that, as of next year, all their dedicated contemporary Asian art sales will be held in Hong Kong.

CHRISTIE’S first wine sale in Asia for seven years will take place in November after the auctioneers have decided to reintroduce wine auctions in Hong Kong.

THE auction record for an English clock was broken at Christie's Hong Kong last month when a late 18th century example by horologist Henry Borrell sold for HK$32m (£2.16m).

The highlight of the Asia week series of auctions put on by the major salerooms was an impressive early Japanese wood sculpture of Buddha. It set a new auction high for a Japanese work of art when it was hammered down to the Japanese company Mitsukoshi Co Ltd for $12.8m (£6.7m) plus premium in Christie’s sale of Japanese and Korean art on March 18.

Not one but two international auction houses conducted sales series in Hong Kong in May.

The Asian art juggernaut thunders on with little sign of any slowdown in the market. If anything, the pace seems to be intensifying.

Bonhams have announced the opening of a new office in Hong Kong and three sales slated for May at Asia World Expo, the new exhibition centre there.

ATG's pioneering live bidding service went East on August 31 - participating in the sale of Oriental and Asian Coins, Medals, and Banknotes conducted in Hong Kong by Baldwin's in association with MA Tak Wo Numismatic Co. Ltd of Hong Kong and Monetarium Pte Ltd of Singapore.

A NEW record for Ming porcelain set by a king of Las Vegas provided the headline, but the real story of Christie’s anniversary series in Hong Kong was the rise and rise of Modern and Contemporary Asian art. This relatively new visitor to the global auction market has now eclipsed more traditional collecting disciplines as Christie’s biggest earner in Hong Kong.

THE value of UK exports of antiques to Hong Kong almost trebled in 2005 according to the latest Customs figures.

The current boom in the market for Chinese Contemporary paintings could hardly be better illustrated than by the way sale statistics have been leapfrogging around the globe in the last couple of weeks.

The emerging class of wealthy Chinese buyers continues to boost the top-end of the art and antiques market in the Far East. So it wasn’t a huge surprise that Sotheby’s set a house record in this autumn’s Hong Kong series, taking HK$850.9m (£61.7m) from seven sales.

HONG KONG ASIAN SALES : When SARS broke out in Asia earlier this year, Sotheby’s decided to hold their Asian auction series in Hong Kong as planned in April, but Christie’s postponed their Hong Kong sales until early July. Sotheby’s may not have registered the same levels of Western interest in their two fine Chinese sales on April 27 (the combined 281 lots totalled a premium-inclusive HK$106,481,440), but like Christie’s, they reported increased mainland Chinese buying.