HONG KONG.- The first live sale for the launch of Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art department at Christie's Asia Pacific will be held in Hong Kong on 3 November 2025, during the Hong Kong Asian Art Week. Industry veteran Edward Wilkinson will lead the dedicated sales to be held in Hong Kong and London in 2025 alongside a broader offering within the existing sales held in Paris and then New York in 2026.

Highlighting the 40-lot Hong Kong sale is a remarkable, rare and newly re-attributed figure of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of compassion. It is a masterpiece of Buddhist sculpture that demonstrates a new international style that emerged in the Yuan court in the late 13th century - the time of the great Khubilai Khan (1215–1294). Under the direction of the famed Nepalese artist and architect, Aniko, the Yuan court ateliers merged the best Indian, Nepalese and Chinese elements to create a new style that changed the direction of Buddhist art in China and the Himalayan plateau for the following 200 years.

The luxuriously gilded copper alloy figure seated in the posture of 'royal ease' (lalitasana) is embellished with inlaid turquoise, lapis lazuli and glass and is finely incised to mimic the luxury textiles of the time. With impeccable provenance to the 1960s and from the legendary Pan-Asian Collection, it is estimated at HK$20,000,000-30,000,000.

An impressive gilt copper alloy figure of Manjushri from the late 12th early 13th century from Tibet, a monumental image of the bodhisattva of transcendent wisdom, is also included and estimated at HKD$16,000,000-20,000,000. It is a superb example of late 12th/early 13th century Himalayan sculpture and reflects the importance of Manjushri in Tibetan Buddhist devotion, closely association with the historic Shalu Monastery, a major center of art and scholarship in Tsang, Southern Tibet.

The sale also includes a rare group of works attributed to the celebrated artist The Tenth Karmapa, Choying Dorje, led by a thangka of Parinirvana, from a series of the twelve deeds of the Buddha. This painting, believed to be the only surviving example from the set, shows the remarkable imagination of one of Tibet's most innovative artists (estimate: HK$8,000,000-12,000,000).

Edward Wilkinson, Global Head of Classical Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian, said: “The diversity of the sales at Christie's is one of our great strengths and it is our ambition to re-invigorate this important collecting area by offering the most exceptional objects from this category, across our global salerooms. The works offered in Hong Kong, represent an 1,800 year-period of Buddhist art from the ancient region of Gandara to Thailand, selected for the sale because of their exceptional quality.”