HONG KONG.- Sotheby’s Hong Kong set a Record for a Single-Owner Sale of Contemporary Chinese Art At Auction when its offering of 105 masterpieces from The Ullens Collection – The Nascence of Avant-Garde China brought HK$427,239,250 / US$54,774,263, against a presale estimate of HK$100 million to HK$130 million / US$12.7 million to 16.7 million*.
Speaking of the sale, Evelyn Lin, Sotheby’s Head of Contemporary Asian Art, commented: “The legendary Ullens Collection represented the visualisation of the Chinese nation’s history through works of art, with many works which traced the birth of Contemporary Chinese Art in the 1980’s. Its remarkable combination of quality, rarity and extraordinary provenance sparked strong international interest which led to extended bidding battles among prospective buyers in the room and over the phones. Buying was from all corners of the world. Zhang Xiaogang’s Forever Lasting Love (Triptych), a monumental museum-quality work from a defining period of the Chinese avant-garde, set an auction record for Contemporary Chinese Art and for the artist. Throughout the sale numerous works sold for many multiples of the high estimate and records were set for Zhang Peili, Wang Guangyi, Geng Jianyi, Yu Youhan, Ding Yi, Guan Wei, Liu Wei and many others. The opportunity to handle works of such quality and importance from this historic Collection marks the height of my career.”
* Estimates do not include buyer’s premium
