HONG KONG.- Following two days of intense bidding, the China Guardian Hong Kong 2014 Autumn Auctions successfully concluded yesterday with a total auction turnover of HKD 343 million.

China Guardian (HK) Auctions Co., Ltd. President Ms. Hu Yanyan expressed: “We are happy to see China Guardian’s highlight categories of Chinese paintings and calligraphy and contemporary art do continuously well, with results exceeding those achieved in the Spring Auctions. Meanwhile we are also excited to see a marked increase in interest in our ceramics and jadeite auctions, reflected in the session’s transactions results nearing HKD 100 million. Overall, we are pleased with the total results, which were very much in line with our estimates.”

Chinese Painting and Calligraphy from the Four Seas
The China Guardian Hong Kong 2014 Autumn Auctions took off on Monday, October 6, in the ballroom of JW Marriot. Starting off at 10am, the first auction session “Chinese Painting and Calligraphy from the Four Seas” attracted strong competition throughout the day between collectors raising their paddles onsite and those bidding over the phone. Finally ending shortly after 7pm, the session saw a number of outstanding results, including “Sailing Boats” by Pan Tianshou going for HKD 6,325,000; ”Green and Blue Landscape“ by Zhang Daqian achieving HKD 4,370,000; “Seven-Character Couplet in Running Script” by Xu Beihong achieving six times its price estimate at HKD 3,910,000; “Cottages Shielded by Trees“ by Huang Binhong reaching over four times its price estimate at HKD 2,300,000, and “Pomegranates” by Qi Baishi fetching over twice its price estimate at HKD 2,185,000.

Knowing: Classical Chinese Painting and Calligraphy from the Le Yi Studio Collection
Starting at 8:30pm on Monday, October 6, the second session “Knowing: Classical Chinese Painting and Calligraphy from the Le Yi Studio Collection” was particularly popular with collectors, with Wen Zhengming and Zhu Yunming’s “Attractive Scenery of Wu Shan Mountain; Calligraphy” setting a record price for the session at HKD 9,027,500. Other highlights included Zhang Lu’s “Landscapes and Figures” achieving HKD 5,175,000, and Dong Qichang’s “Five- Character Poem in Running Script” exceeding its price estimate by three times at a transaction price of HKD 4,485,000.

The Enchantment of Neoteric Chinese Ink
As the last session of the day, “The Enchantment of Neoteric Chinese Ink” ended the first day of the China Guardian Hong Kong 2014 Autumn Auctions on a high note with several highlights, including “The Sun and the Moon – 97” by Lou Zhenggang fetching HKD 1,322,500; Liu Guosong's "Moon Rising" achieving over twice its price estimate at HKD 874,000, and Xiao Xu’s “Poems from Marco Polo” selling for HKD 437,000.

Important Watches, Jewellery and Jadeite
The Autumn Auctions marked the second time for China Guardian Hong Kong to hold an "Important Watches, Jewellery and Jadeite" auction category, Pieces in this category hailed from some the world’s most prestigious watch and jewellery makers, including the ‘evergreen of watches’ Rolex, the ‘timeless’ Patek Philippe, the ‘glamorous’ Cartier. The auction’s variety of dazzling and sumptuous precious stones and important watches truly captured the imagination of attending collectors from across the region.

20th Century and Contemporary Chinese Art
On the second day of auctions on October 7, China Guardian Hong Kong 2014 carried on with its next auction session: “20th Century and Contemporary Chinese Art.” Featuring distinctive artistic styles, fine execution and a broad international appeal, the auction items in this session included prized pieces, carefully selected through China Guardian’s highly rigorous and professional consignment process. Among the highlights of the auction were Zao Wou-Ki’s “5.11.93”, achieving a transaction price of HKD 10,350,000, Chu Teh-chun’s “Aspirations” fetching the high value of HKD 8,625,000, Wu Dayu’s “Colourful Rhyme NO.27 – Noon Dream” selling for HKD 6,555,000, and Wu Guanzhong’s “Ocean Waves” achieving HKD 5,520,000.

Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art
Marking the end of the China Guardian Hong Kong 2014 Autumn Auctions, the final session “Ceramics and Works of Art” attracted a full house on Tuesday evening, as collectors filled the seats and spectators flowed in at the back of the auction room. Shortly into the auction session, a flurry of paddles came up successively in a bid to secure some of the rarest and most unique jade, ceramics, sculptures, writing utensils, and bronze pieces available on the market. Excitement peaked with the announcement of the rare and extremely fine under-glazed blue and yellow enamel ‘floral scroll’ bottle lot, which after a bout of intense competition achieved the impressive transaction price of HKD 27,600,000. Other highlights from the session included a “Ru-Type 'Fish-Basket' Vessel, Mark and Period of Qianlong (1736 – 1795)” fetching HKD 13,800,000, a “Pair of Large Imperial Famille-Rose Beijing Enamel Gu-Shaped Vases, Marks and Period of Qianlong (1736 – 1795)” exceeding five times their price estimate at HKD 5,865,000, and a “Grisaille-Decorated ‘Landscape’ Brushpot, Mark and Period of Qianlong (1736 – 1795)” selling for over eight times its price estimate at HKD 4,945,000.