Sales Soar Beyond Pre-Sale Estimate ofHK$2.34 – 3.4 Billion / US$300 – 428 Million

Second Highest Total in Company History*Second Only to Sotheby’s Landmark 40th Anniversary Sale in 2013*

Six Works Sell for Over HK$100 Million

Strong Overall Sell-Through Rate of 90%, with Competition Seen Across All Categories

35,000+ Visitors, 4,331 Lots Sold, 20 Auctions in Just 6 DaysSales Attract New Generation of Buyers

28 Records, Including That for Any Female Artist Sold at Auction in Asia

Art Enthusiasts from Across Asia Drawn by Breadth and Quality of Sales &Spectacular Array of Engaging Events Staged by Sotheby’s in Hong Kong

Strong Performance for Broadest Ever Offering of Western Art

Sales See Activity from All Corners of Asia

HONG KONG, 3 April 2019  Sotheby's (NYSE: BID) Spring 2019 Hong Kong auction series concluded today with a grand total of HK$3.78 billion / US$482 million, exceeding the pre-sale high estimate for the series (HK$2.34 – 3.4 billion / US$300 – 428 million)* and establishing the second highest total in company history, second only to Sotheby’s landmark 40th anniversary sale total in Autumn 2013. The sales were marked by healthy activity across all categories and from all corners of Asia, with a strong combined sell-through rate of 90%.

“These superb results are up on what were already very strong results last spring, despite the fact that the estimates were lower than a year ago,” commented Tad Smith, Sotheby’s CEO, adding “our excellent performance against low estimate is a clear indicator of the health of the market in Asia and bodes very well for our important upcoming May auctions in New York.” 

Kevin Ching, CEO of Sotheby’s Asia, said: “With all eyes firmly fixed on our Hong Kong sales for this first indicative season, I think we can say that the Asian market did not disappoint. Our total follows what was already a record year for Sotheby’s in Asia, with this season’s results now sitting among the top results we have ever achieved here in Hong Kong – a testament to the fact that, when you get it right, collectors from across Asia remain ready to go the extra mile.”

Patti Wong, Chairman of Sotheby’s Asia, said: “When building the sales for these big seasons, we try to keep our finger firmly on the pulse of our collectors so as to understand, not only what they want right now, but also where their interests are taking them, so our offerings reflect both where the market is and where it is going.  That is why we are bringing an ever-more diverse range of material to Hong Kong, along with an ever-wider range of possibilities for collectors to engage with us. This, for me, is what is so exciting about these seasons – they are not only a data point for the Asian market, they are also testimony to the excitement, and opportunity, that exists within it.”

KEY STATISTICS AT A GLANCE

Number of visitors: 35,000+Number of lots sold: 4,331Number of auctions staged: 20 in 9 categoriesNumber of records set: 28Number of lots sold for over HK$100 million: 6Participation from new buyers: 20%New generation engages: nearly 50% of buyers in NIGOLDENEYE® are under 40Private sales: selling exhibitions of Modern and Contemporary Art perform wellWestern art: a broader offering than ever before, with 92 works by 50+ Western artists, many of whom debuted at auction in Asia this week. With a sell-through rate of over 90%, the group smashes the top combined estimate, with notable increase in participation from Mainland ChinaArray of events:Sotheby’s collaborates with Jing Daily to present a thought-leading conference on ‘The Future of Luxury: Ecommerce in Asia’Unveiling a new McLaren, the powerful and lightweight 720s SpiderA live performance by sculptor and conceptual artist Bernar Venet inaugurates the Spring sales, the first time an auction house has hosted an artist to create during a live art event and then to exhibit the newly created piece for auctionMuseum lecture series: Sotheby’s Hong Kong hosted timely seminar on ‘Rembrandt in Amsterdam: Inspirator and Innovator’, as part of the ‘Dutch Days in Hong Kong’ programme

HIGHLIGHTS SPAN CENTURIES AND CATEGORIES

WINE SALES TOTAL HK$273 MILLION / US$35 MILLIONWorld auction record for any series of wine salesRecord for a private wine collection sold at auction: Tran-scend-ent Wines totals HK$234 million / US$30 millionSotheby’s largest-ever offering of Kweichow Moutai to date: 50-lot collection sells for HK$9 million / US$1.1 million25 limited-edition Mouton Rothschild Versailles Celebration Cases sell for a combined total of HK$7.1 million / US$904,261; proceeds to fund restoration projects at the Palace of Versailles

MODERN ARTModern Art Evening and Day Sales together realise HK$851 million / US$108 million (est. HK$421 – 636 million / US$53.6 – 80.9 million), with Evening Sale making HK$793 million / US$101 million, far exceeding pre-sale high estimateTop lot: Wu Guanzhong’s Lotus Flowers (I) sells for a stunning HK$130.8 million / US$16.7 million, more than 8.5 times the estimateAn unrivalled group of six works by Zao Wou-Ki spanning three decades is 100% sold, led by Untitled (1958), sold to benefit the Art Fund of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum which achieves HK$116 million / US$14.8 millionRobust demand for works by Guan Liang over the two sales: 28 works 100% sold for a combined total of HK$55.45 million / US$7 million, four times the estimate

CONTEMPORARY ARTHighest totalling series of Contemporary Art sales staged in Asia: Contemporary sales realise a combined total of HK$802 million / US$102 million (est. HK$385 – 579 million / US$49 – 73.5 million)Record for a work by a female artist sold at auction in Asia: Kusama Yayoi’s Interminable Net #4 sells for an exceptional HK$62.4 million / US$8 millionStrong performance by Western artists, led by auction debuts in Asia: Julie Mehretu’s Black Ground (Deep Light) sells for HK$44.2 million / US$5.6 million, an auction record for the artist, and Mark Grotjahn’s Untitled (Yellow White Butterfly) achieves HK$26.6 million / US$3.4 millionNIGOLDENEYE® Vol. 1 totals HK$220 million / US$28 million, 100% sold, led by KAWS’ THE KAWS ALBUM which sells for HK$116 million / US$14.8 million, a record for the artist at auction

MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY SOUTHEAST ASIAN ARTModern & Contemporary Southeast Asian Art Evening & Day Sales total HK$167 million / US$21.3 million (est. HK$88 – 135 million / US$10.9 – 17 million), led by Lee Man Fong’s Bali Life which achieves HK$28.9 million / US$3.7 millionStrong bidding from Vietnam

FINE CLASSICAL CHINESE PAINTINGSA Ming Dynasty calligraphic scroll by Zhang Bi and other reputable literati sells for HK$27.8 million / US$3.5 million, 23 times the estimate

FINE CHINESE PAINTINGSWith a 90% sell-through rate, the sale realises HK$488.3 million/ US$62.3 million, led by Zhang Daqian’s Manchurian Mountains from 1969, which doubles top estimate, selling for HK$162.7 million / US$20.8 million

SPECTACULAR 88.22-CARAT OVAL DIAMOND LEADS SALE OF MAGNIFICENT JEWELS & JADEITE SALEPerfect according to every critical criterion, the precious stone sells for HK$108 million / US$13.8 million to a Japanese Private Collector who names the diamond, the ‘Manami Star’, after his eldest daughter

IMPORTANT WATCHES TOTALS HK$134.7 MILLION / US$17.3 MILLIONTop Lot: Patek Philippe Reference 2499, First Series, Highly Important and Historically Interesting Yellow Gold Perpetual Calendar Wristwatch with Moon Phases and Vichet Case, made in 1951, sells for HK$11.9 million / US$1.5 million

SALES OF CHINESE WORKS OF ART TOTAL HK$633.6 MILLION / US$81.5 MILLION18 pieces of selected imperial ceramics from the Tianminlou Collection are 100% sold, totalling HK$194 million / US$24.7 million, 2.7 times the low estimate

SELLING EXHIBITIONS OF MODERN & CONTEMPORARY ART HELD ALONGSIDE SERIES OF 20 AUCTIONSAlex Katz, the American artist’s first major exhibition in Hong Kong‘Panorama: A New Perspective’: over 20 works sell by artists including Condo, Gormley, Chagall, Gauguin, Hockney, Pissarro, Baselitz, Banksy, Hirst and Warhol