The crowded Hong Kong saleroom.
The Last Supper (2001) by Zeng Fanzhi. (Click on image to enlarge).
THERE was a new record for a work by a living Chinese artist and eleven records were smashed at Sotheby’s 40th anniversary evening sale in Hong Kong on October 5. The sale achieved US$145,188,462 over a pre-sale high estimate of $85 million. No less than eleven artists records were established. The top lot was Zeng Fanzhi’s The Last Supper which made $23,273,151, a new record for a work by a living Chinese artist and a record for a work of contemporary Asian art.
It was standing room only in a saleroom crowded with nearly 700 people. Bidding by phone and on the net came from 25 countries. The auction achieved the highest total for any comparable sale in Asia across the categories of 20th Century Chinese Art, Contemporary Asian Art and Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Art. Five bidders competed for more than fifteen minutes for Zeng Fanzhi’s The Last Supper, a 2001 oil-on-canvas.
The record breaking run continued on October 6 when 20th Century Chinese Art brought in US$96 Million and Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Art achieved US$29 Million. Both auctions made records for a sale in the category.
(See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for September 5, 2013 and August 12, 3013)