Ruyao Washer Northern Song Dynasty sold for $26.7 million US dollars. (Click on image to enlarge).
A Northern Song Dynasty Ruyao ceramic washer made a world record $26.7 million US dollars at the five day Sotheby’s sales series in Hong Kong. Over the past five days more than 2,780 lots sourced from nearly 30 countries have been sold to buyers primarily from Asia but with substantial worldwide competition. The sales brought in $316 million US dollars.
The Ruyao washer is more than nine centuries old. Ru refers to the kilns located south of the Song capital Kaifeng in Henan Province. There are about 70 Ru pieces in museum collections and only four are known to be privately owned. A painting from Zhang Xiaogang’s Bloodlines series sold for $6.69 million US. There were record prices for the Vietnamese painter Le Pho and contemporary Indonesian artist Ay Tjoe Christine and Bandung school artists Ahmad Sadali and But Mochtar.
Zhang Xiaogang_Bloodline - Big Family Family No.2 sold for $6.69 million US. (Click on image to enlarge).
Patti Wong, chairman of Sotheby’s Asia, said solid prices were achieved throughout the sale series which included Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian paintings, 20th century Chinese art, Asian art and magnificent jewels and jadeite. There is, she said, eager anticipation for the launch next month of the new Hong Kong gallery space at One Pacific Place where Sotheby’s will mount auctions and selling exhibitions, show upcoming sale highlights other events.
This dish, which sold for 310,000 at the Adams auction in Slane last October, made 1.8 million euro at the Sotheby's Hong Kong sales.
Kevin Ching, Chief Executive Officer of Sotheby’s Asia, said: “The week’s most impressive results were achieved for Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, which is currently one of the top-selling categories of art in the world”. Evidence of this can be found in the sale of a blue and white Ming dragon dish, bought by a London dealer at Adams Country House Collections sale at Slane Castle last October for 310,000. Painted with images of a five clawed dragon, it was stamped with the mark of the Emperor Xuande who reigned from 1425 to 1435. It had been brought to Ireland in 1905 by a member of a Derry family who servied with the British Army in China. It was sold in Hong Kong this week for HK$18.8 million, or approximately 1.8 million euro.