Sotheby’s report spirited bidding for top-quality works at the second installment of the Ullens Collection auctions in Hong Kong.
Sotheby’s auction featuring Zeng Fanzhi’s The Mask Series, 1998 No.26. Photo: Sotheby’s.
Holding the sale in a packed house populated by dozens of mainland Chinese, alongside local buyers and dealers, Sotheby’s saw opening bids for some lots open far beyond their low estimates due to the sheer amount of bidders.
One work by Lin Yilin sold for HK$280,000, over a high estimate of HK$120,000, while another by Qiu Zhijie sold for HK$380,000 — a new record for his video art. In all, all four video art pieces on sale this weekend found new homes, indicating greater interest in this genre among newer Chinese collectors.
In terms of the top five lots, Zeng Fanzhi’s 1998 oil on canvas, “Mask Series 1998 No.26? headed up the pack, achieving HK$20.3 million (US$2.6 million), followed up by Liu Ye’s “Portrait of Qi Baishi,” Yu Youhan’s “Circle 1986-8? (more than doubling its high estimate to sell for HK$7.2 million (US$931,236), Sui Jianguo’s “The Shadow of the Century (Set of 10)” (HK$5.8 million (US$745,504), and Ding Yi’s “Appearance of Crosses 2001.8 (triptych).”