Calligraphy by Hu Shi

Guardian Auctions with transaction volume of RMB 5.3 billion Yuan

On May 25, China Guardian 2011 Spring Auction concluded successfully in Beijing with a turnover of RMB 5.323 billion Yuan, refreshing the record of Chinese artwork single season auction.

Impressive is that the spring auction of Guardian creates four world records: Towering Pine and Cypress Painting with Four-Character-Line Couplet in Seal Script by Qi Baishi was sold at RMB 425.5 million Yuan, record high of the Modern and Contemporary Painting and Calligraphy catalogue in the world; Mountain, Earth and Wind, an important work of Chen Yifei, was sold at RMB 81.65 million Yuan, record high of the Chinese Oil Painting catalogue; Yuan Dynasty handwritten copy of Summarized Policies of the Eastern and Western Han Dynasties in Twelve Volumes was sold at RMB 48.3 million Yuan, record high of the Chinese Ancient Books catalogue in the world; Ming Yu Man Yue - Bronze Mirror with Running Beasts was sold at RMB 8.97 million Yuan, record high of the Bronze Mirror catalogue.

According to employees of China Guardian Auctions, in this spring auction, 3,142 items of Chinese paintings and calligraphy works, porcelain, furniture and works of art, Chinese oil paintings and sculptures, rare books and manuscripts, jewelry and jade, and wrist watches, and 3,796 items of stamps, coins and bronze mirrors were sold, among which two items were sold for over RMB 100 million Yuan and 85 items for over RMB 10 million Yuan.

Moreover, the turnover of modern and contemporary painting and calligraphy exceeded RMB 2.6 billion Yuan, and on average 93 percent of the works were sold with 37 works sold at over RMB 10 million Yuan. Herding Horse Painting, a 26 square feet work by Huang Zhou was sold at RMB 60,375 million Yuan, a record high of the painter's own works. In addition, Flower, Bird and Landscape after the Song Style by Xie Zhiliu and Calligraphy in Running Script by Hu Shi both created personal records respectively with RMB 46 million Yuan and RMB 5.29 million Yuan. Furthermore, all works were sold at the five sessions, namely the "Zhongxing Hut Painting Collection", the "Autumn Studio's Collection", the "Zhenru House's Collection", "Charming Landscape: Five Elaborate Paintings by Lu Yanshao from Private Collection in Singapore" and "Gazing at the Last Century: Painting and Calligraphy by Celebrated Politicians, Scholars and Artists". This fully demonstrated our strength and indubitable leading position in this arena.

Ms. Wang Yannan, Director and President of China Guardian Auctions Co., Ltd. said: "We are very proud that 4 world records have been created in the spring auction. I appreciate the great support from our collector friends. Currently, the performance of artwork market depends on economic growth. And with more attention from and participation of collectors, we can expect domestic artwork market to continue to prosper".

Hanhai: 4 highlights

On May 21, Hanhai Auction concluded its spring auction in complete success. 18 specialized sessions plus the money & coin auction resulted in a turnover of RMB 2.45 billion Yuan. According to employees of Hanhai, there are 4 major highlights in Hanhai's spring auction.

The first highlight is the 100 percent sale rate. All items were sold in the 4 specialized sessions, namely the "Suijin Collection of Modern Chinese Painting and Calligraphies", "Sun Peicang Family Collection of Xu Beihong's Rare Oil Paintings", "Belgium Personal Collection of Buddha Figures", and "Important Books, Paintings, and Antiques of Hanhai".

The second highlight is that a new record has been created for Huang Binhong's works. The most anticipated item in the session was Mr. Huang's Huangshan Tangkou, which is an imposing painting that exhibits the painter's profound skills. Painted in 1955, it is truly a masterpiece of Huang Binhong. Starting at RMB 3 million Yuan, the painting was finally sold at RMB 47,725 million Yuan, 10 times its estimated price and the highest auction record of Huang Binhong's works.

The third highlight is that the personal collection market has been thriving. In this year's spring auction, Hanhai organized several collectors' specialized sessions. The "Suijin Collection of Modern Chinese Painting and Calligraphies", the most anticipated session, was in vehement state throughout. The bidding lasted for 6 hours, and the total transaction volume amounted to over RMB 330 million Yuan. The Suijin Collection is the 6th volume of the Celebrities' Collection series of the famous Hong Kong publication Celebrities' Paintings and Calligraphy. There are detailed records of all these works and their origins.

The spring auction introduced more than 140 items of modern and contemporary paintings and calligraphies recorded in the Suijin Collection. Most of these works have been highlights of international and domestic auctions in the past 10 years, and others are personal collections, coming either directly from collectors or from specialized auctions of collectors.

The fourth highlight is imperial kiln porcelains of the period of the Qing Dynasty during the reigns of Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong. These porcelains are an indication of the thriving antique market. During Hanhai's spring auction, over 260 pieces of antiques and rare treasures were sold in specialized sessions, with a turnover of about RMB 120 million Yuan. The "Vase of Yellow-Glaze with Blue Decoration of Three Kinds of Fruits, Qing Dynasty" is a piece of typical imperial-kiln porcelain of the Yongzheng period in Qing Dynasty. The decoration of three fruits has auspicious implication. The color is bright and pleasant to the eyes, with yellow glaze and blue decoration. It has a strong artistic appeal. This item was auctioned at a starting price of RMB 10 million Yuan. After more than 10 rounds of biddings, it was sold at the final price of RMB 26.45 million Yuan, making it the most expensive item in the session.

Council: Eye-catching Guqin session

Beijing Council 2011 Spring Auction was opened on June 6 to 8 in Beijing International Hotel. Before the spring auction, Beijing Council launched a national exhibition program. More than 80 important items in multiple categories, including modern and contemporary paintings and calligraphies, oil paintings, and antiques, were exhibited in Xiamen, Ji'nan, and Beijing, among other places. Moreover, a preview exhibition of modern and contemporary Chinese porcelain specialized session was held in Jingde Town.

In this year's spring auction, Beijing Council will introduce 5 rare Guqin of the Yuan and Ming dynasties, all very eye-catching. Among these 5 items, the "Jiangyan" Confucius Type Guqin, collected by Wang Zhengping, president of Taipei Limin Orchestra, has an inscription of "Jiangyan" on its surface. This Guqin is elegant, solid, smooth, bright, and magnificent. The material is refined and smooth, with a charming ancient appeal. Its estimated price is between RMB 2.5 to 2.8 million Yuan.

There are not many surviving Guqin, and most of these Guqin are housed in museums worldwide. There are very few in the hands of personal collectors, and these few are rare treasures sought after by collectors. Now that the Guqin auction market is becoming more prosperous and people are more enthusiastic about traditional culture, Guqin will undoubtedly garner collectors' attention. In recent years, the performance of Guqin auction is noteworthy in China's auction market. A total of 16 pieces of Guqin were auctioned in Beijing Council's spring auction and autumn auction. All of these Guqin were sold. Among these 16 was Wang Shixiang's "Confucius Type Guqin Collected by Zhu Huiwong, Song Dynasty", which is a genuine Song Dynasty Guqin once collected by Zhu Xi. This Guqin was sold at a final price of RMB 11.2 million Yuan.