China Guardian Auctions Co. Ltd set a new record in the company's history when its 2005 Spring Auctions concluded on May 15 with a total sale of over RMB600 million after three days’ fierce bidding for over 5,000 items.
Chinese paintings and calligraphy continued to lead the way, with five special sessions that fetched a total of RMB370 million yuan. Modern paintings and calligraphy achieved a total sale of RMB252 million yuan, and the sale was 93% sold by lot. Modern masters like Wu Changshuo, Qi Baishi, Huang Binhong, Xu Beihong, Pan Tianshou and Zhang Daqian remained bidders’ favourites, with Pan Tianshou’s “Eagle, Rock and Flora” (Lot 514) being the highest priced item at RMB11.71 million yuan. The prices for the works of these masters, however, were in line with the estimates, which indicated positive yet rational market sentiments. Increases in prices for some painters were considerable, such as Cheng Shifa, Huang Zou and Guan Liang. Classical Paintings and Calligraphy achieved a total sale of over RMB71.7 million yuan, and was 76.6% sold by lot.
Highlighting the sale of paintings and calligraphy was the special auction of Fine Contemporary Paintings, the first of its kind organized by China Guardian. With all 94 paintings sold at a total of nearly RMB20 million, the sale underlines the growth potential of contemporary paintings. The top price was for Wang Mingming’s “Landscape” (Lot 256) which sold for RMB1.11 million yuan.
Setting a record for the company was the sale of oil paintings, which fetched a total sale of RMB77 million (93% sold by lot), representing a 100% increase from the previous sale at the company’s 2004 Autumn Auctions.
Bidding was fierce for a painting by the late Chen Yifei, entitled “One Sunny Day” (Lot 120), which sold for RMB4.4 million yuan, the highest price for the session. Chen’s other work, “Zhouzhuang” (Lot 139), sold for RMB1.98 million yuan, the ninth highest price for the session. These two paintings were the first ones to be
auctioned since the passing away of Mr Chen in April. Ms Gao Yuan, manager of China Guardian’s oil paintings department, remarked that the high prices for the two paintings underlined the recognition of the artistic achievement of Mr Chen by the market, and people’s sentiments towards his untimely death.
Porcelain and Works of Art achieved a total sale of RMB56 million yuan, with blue and white ceramics of the Ming and Qing dynasties being the bidders’ favourites. Bidders responded with great enthusiasm to the Geng Zhi Tang Collection of Embroidered Articles, the first special auction of embroidery art in the world. According to China Guardian’s manager of Porcelain and Works of Art, Mr Chen Lianyong, the collection represented the essence of Chinese embroidery art with its variety and superb quality. Four pieces had earlier been identified by the authorities as Grade 1 cultural relics, and attracted much attention (Lots 1806、 1808、1828、 1858). The total sale of the collection was RMB44.23 million yuan (over 90% sold by lot), a highly gratifying figure.
Stamps, covers, ancient coins and bronze mirrors also performed well with a total sale of RMB24.16 million yuan. Highlights included the collections from celebrated collectors, Lin Song and Ma Dingxiang.
The Spring Auctions concluded with the sale of Rare Books of which the focus was centered on the collection of Guoyun Lou. The unique collection by the legendary family sold for RMB23.1 million yuan in its entirety.
(All prices quoted include buyer’s premium. Full lists of results are available on m.woeiswo.com)