Press Release Hong Kong For Immediate Release Hong Kong | Esme Chau | +852 2822 8143 | [email protected] New York | Dan Abernethy | [email protected] | London | Matthew Weigman | [email protected] Sotheby’s Hong Kong Fine Chinese Paintings Autumn Sale 2014 Achieves HK$467 Million / US$60 Million More Than Doubling Pre-Sale Estimate (In excess of HK$200 Million / US$25.6 Million*) ******** Top Lot of the Sale The Pinnacle of Zhang Daqian’s Gongbi Brushwork Style LA BEAUTÉ ANTIQUE Fetches HK$66.2 million / US$8.5 million Over Fourteen Times Its Last Auctioned Price In 2001 Other Notable Highlights From the Previous Collection of a French Diplomat in China Fu Baoshi’s Lofty Terrace of Mount Huang Achieves HK$28.12 million / US$3.6 million (High Est. HK$8 million / US$1.026 million) Yu Fei’an’s Mandarin Ducks in the Pond Achieves HK$7.48 million / US$960,000 Eight Times Over High Estimate (HK$900,000 / US$120,000) Hong Kong, 7 October 2014 C.K. Cheung, Head of Chinese Paintings Department, Sotheby's, said, “The market for fine Chinese paintings goes from strength to strength at Sotheby’s. Leveraging our unrivalled global network to source exceptional works from important private collections in America, Europe and Asia, as well as adhering to our strategy of carefully curating a sale that offers desirable paintings at attractive estimates, we have achieved outstanding results today, with a total of HK$467 million / US$60 million, far surpassing our 40th Anniversary Autumn 2013 sale total. Sotheby’s was the first international auction house to offer Chinese Paintings at auction in Asia and our unequalled experience allows us to be market-makers in the field, as collectors trust our strategy will deliver excellent results for them. For example, the top lot of the day, Zhang Daqian’s La Beauté Antique (pictured left), consigned from an important American private collection, represents the pinnacle of the artist’s gongbi brushwork and occupies a very significant place in his career as he handpicked it for his first solo exhibition in the West. The price of HK$66.2 million we fetched this evening was fourteen times the price this major work was auctioned at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in 2001^, showing how far the market has come. Similarly, Fu Baoshi’s Lofty Terrace of Mount Huang, which returns to Asia for the first time in over 60 years, having previously been in the Collection of a French Diplomat who acquired it in China, more than tripled its high estimate. Other notable prices were fetched for works by Yu Fei’an, especially the cover lot – Mandarin Ducks in the Pond (pictured right) – which sold for more than eight times its high estimate.” ^Zhang Daqian’s La Beauté Antique was sold for HK$4,664,750 at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in October 2001. *Estimates do not include buyer’s premium and prices achieved include the hammer price plus buyer’s premium. All catalogues are available online at www.sothebys.com or through Sotheby’s Catalogue iPad App NOTES TO EDITORS I) UPCOMING AUCTIONS ON 8 OCTOBER 10am Heirlooms of Chinese Art from the Hosokawa Clan 10:30am Important Watches 10:45am The Fonthill Dragon Jar 11am The Baoyizhai Collection of Chinese Lacquer, Part 2 11:45am Later Chinese Bronzes from the Collection of Ulrich Hausmann 2:30pm Chinese Art Through the Eye of Sakamoto Gorō - Porcelain 2:45pm The Chunzaizhai Collection – A Xuande “Fish” Stemcup 3pm Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art II) FOR MORE NEWS FROM SOTHEBY’S Visit: www.sothebys.com/en/inside/services/press/news/news.html Follow: http://www.twitter.com/sothebys & http://www.weibo.com/sothebyshongkong & WeChat (ID: sothebyshongkong) Join: http://www.facebook.com/sothebys Watch: http://www.youtube.com/sothebys 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 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 90 offices in 40 countries and is the oldest company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (BID).