Christie’s Hong Kong autumn 2023 auctions fetch US$384 million, see strong demand for Asian masterpieces

Christie’s autumn auctions showed Asian demand for high-end art and collectibles remains resilient; top lot ‘Nude on Tapestry’ by Sanyu sold for US$24 million

There were eager bids for ‘The Tianminlou Collection’ of Chinese porcelain, while the mood was more subdued for Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou’s collaboration

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“Bad Barber” (2000), by Yoshitomo Nara, sold for HK$51.2 million including fees on November 28 during Christie’s 20th- and 21st-century art evening sale in Hong Kong, part of the auction house’s 2023 autumn sales. Photo: Christie’s

Published: 12:45pm, 5 Dec 2023

Asian demand for high-end art and other collectibles remains resilient despite a downcast macroeconomic backdrop, Christie’s just-finished week of auctions in Hong Kong showed.

The total tally for Christie’s annual autumn auctions, which took place at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from November 24 to December 2, was HK$3 billion (US$384 million), level with the HK$3 billion recorded in the spring sales.

The four modern and contemporary art sales yielded HK$1 billion, slightly lower than the HK$1.26 billion made from Sotheby’s five modern and contemporary sales in October and Christie’s own spring sale of the same categories, which raked in HK$1.24 billion in May.

Christie’s continues to paint a bullish picture of the market by pointing out that millennials accounted for more than 40 per cent of new buyers overall and that 67 per cent of buyers in the high-value evening sale were new participants, suggesting that the market in Asia continues to expand.

“A Flower” (2014), Yayoi Kusama, sold for HK$78.1 million including fees. Photo: Christie’s

The highlight of the November 28 evening sale of 20th- and 21st-century art was Sanyu’s Nude on Tapestry (1929), which appeared for the first time in auction after remaining in private hands for nearly a century. The hammer price at HK$160 million was above the presale expectation of HK$150 million and the total price was HK$187.3 million, including fees.