HONG KONG.- Poly Auction (Hong Kong) Limited presented Delightful Pleasure—Chinese Painting and Calligraphy (I) in Poly Gallery Hong Kong on Thursday 28 May, with a total sales of HK$10.97 million/ US$1.4 million recorded. With an emphasis on delicateness and elegance, artworks from different schools of art, such as Jingjin, Jinling and Lingnan, are featured in this auction, including masterpieces like Bird and Tree by Qi Baishi and Boating in the Autumn by Huang Binhong, attracting numerous connoisseurs and art lovers to attend. After an intense bidding session by both connoisseurs in the gallery and telephone bidders, the masterpiece Various Subjects by Qi Baishi was sold at HK$3.54 million, six times over the pre-sale low estimate, and Landscape by Lan Meng was sold at HK$448,400. The auction also featured lots from the private collections of Wang Aiyun and Yang Wu Tang, which are much cherished artworks by collectors, and the bidding was intense.

Mr. Luo Gedi, Head of Chinese Paintings, said, “We are very pleased with the results of today’s auction. The sold prices are in line with the market’s expectations, and we expect to see good results in this year’s autumn auction as well. We seek to reshape the historical and cultural landscape of the masters in modern schools of Chinese paintings and calligraphy in the next sale, so stay tuned.”

Furthermore, starting from today (May 29) to May 30, The Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art department will organize three thematic sessions, namely The Collection of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth—A Selection of Archaic Chinese Ceramics, The Collection of Feng Wen Tang—A Selection of Works of Buddhist Art and Selection from The Collection of Wan Feng Tang, whereas the auction will be on 31 May, both will be held at Poly Gallery Hong Kong in Pacific Place I (7F). All three sessions feature collections from prominent figures of Chinese antique connoisseurship in overseas, which made huge contributions to Asian art. Mr Ellsworth and Host of Feng Wen Tang, had both dedicated their lives to their connoisseurship; their collections are of wide range and high quality, with archaic Chinese ceramics and Buddhist statues as the most exemplary fields. Host of Wan Feng Tang, having followed his father’s footsteps, is an expert in Chinese archaic aesthetics, and a fine selection of dozens of pieces of archaic artwork from his collection has been made, all dedicated to this glorious occasion.