Christie’s series of auctions in Hong Kong earlier today left little doubt about the vitality of the Chinese market. With a total of $146 million, the sale of Chinese Ceramics and Art was Christie’s was successful ever. Nearly three-quarters of the works sold above estimates; 27 realized prices above $1 mllion. Top seller was a pair of imperial cloisonné enamel double cranes censer from the Yongzheng period, which fetched $16.7 million.
Many of the offerings came from three single-owner collections. Buyers snapped up all 32 lots from the Greenwald Collection, raising $15.3 million; each of the top ten lots sold above estimates. The collection of Walter and Phyllis Shorenstein, notable for its Chinese glass, raised another $31 million, with a Qianlong moonflask selling for $15.9 million. The day’s top lot came from the noted Fonthill collection, offered for the first time in 150 years.
Read more at Christie’s.
