HONG KONG.-C.K. Cheung, Head of the Chinese Paintings department at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, said: “Today’s sale of Fine Chinese Paintings, which achieved HK$162,735,503 and nearly doubled its pre-sale high estimate, combined with the sale of paintings from the Robert Chang Collection (Part 2) (which brought HK$53,752,250), was the most successful series of Fine Chinese Paintings sales ever held at Sotheby’s, achieving a total of HK$216 million.”

“The results achieved for the various owners sale, which offered works predominantly from private collections that had been off the market for decades, show the extraordinary strength in the market for Fine Chinese Paintings. One of the most exciting moments today came when lot 238, Street Singers by Jiang Zhaohe, estimated at HK$80,000-120,000, sold for HK$3,487,500 (US$449,504), setting a new record for the artist at auction. Interestingly, the subject matter of Street Singers, itinerant street performers during the Japanese occupation, is the same as for Put Down Your Whip, sold by Sotheby’s in April 2007 which still holds the record for a Modern Chinese Painting sold at auction. ”

C.K. Cheung attributed the high price achieved for the painting to the fact that there has not been a work of comparable quality by this artist on the market for at least 30 years in Hong Kong. This powerful work, frequently published, was widely admired during its pre-sale view throughout Asia. It was being sold by the original owner who purchased it directly from the artist during the Japanese occupation.

The only higher sale total achieved for a various owners auction of Fine Chinese Paintings at Sotheby’s was for a sale at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in October 2005, which achieved HK$174,154, 800.