Collectors around the world are eagerly awaiting the opening auction of Christie's Hong Kong's new Asia-Pacific headquarters. As the first live auction held at Christie's brand new Asia-Pacific headquarters, the Au Bai Ling Collection First Auction is undoubtedly one of the biggest attractions and hotspots of the entire Chinese art auction market in this year's autumn auction season.

 

Mr Au is a renowned educational publisher in Hong Kong, the founder of the Ling Kee Group, and a low-key collector of official kiln porcelains. Mr Au's virtue, wisdom, courage and perseverance, at the age of 15, founded the Ling Kee bookstore, and later established the Ling Kee Group, which has more than 30 companies all over the world.

 

In terms of collection, it is a unique vision, half a century, has been obsessed with searching for top Chinese porcelain masterpieces, to establish a across the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties of the top of the collection, especially its Chenghua Doucai cocktail cups and the Northern Song Dynasty Ru kiln azure-glazed sunflower wash known in the industry.

 

Two characteristics of Mr Au's collection are that it is kept secret and that it is only accessible to the public, which is why the entirety of his collection has always been little known, with only one exhibition of his collection having been held at the Royal Academy of Arts in London in 1998, and this sale will be the first release of Mr Au's collection since his death, as well as the first time that this sequence of the collection has been exhibited and auctioned in Asia.

 

This specialised auction sold extremely well, with all 19 pieces of Ming and Qing porcelain sold, and with large premiums, the confidence of the market has returned, with the Ming Yongle blue and white jade pot spring vase with four seasons of flowers topping the list at $27.6 million, which is not bad. Sold prices best reflect market trends, and the wind direction of benchmark auctions will have a significant impact on global autumn auctions. Below is the latest record of sales in today's auction, so let's have a quick look.

 

 

明永乐 青花四季花卉纹玉壶春瓶（2760万）

Height 25.5 cm

Provenance: Christie's, London, 10 December 1990, lot 167 (cover)

Exhibition: Royal Academy of Arts.《区百龄珍藏百件名瓷展览》，London, 1998, 42

 

 

 

 

 

18

清乾隆 斗彩描金暗八仙缠枝蕃莲绶带纹多耳瓶（1029.7万）

Height 23 cm Estimate 3-5 million

Provenance: Sotheby's, London, 2 April 1974, lot 321

Exhibition: Royal Academy of Arts.《区百龄珍藏百件名瓷展览》，London.1998, 72

 

 

 

 

11

清雍正 斗彩海水异兽纹天字罐（504万）

Height 10.3cm Estimated 1-2 million dollars

Provenance: Dai Runzhai Collection

《Important Chinese Ceramics Sold for the benefit of the J.T. Tai Foundation》，Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 21 May 1985, lot 23

 

 

 

 

 

12

清雍正 胭脂红釉茶圆（441万）

Diameter 9.3 cm Estimate $1,200,000-2,000,000

Provenance: Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 16 May 1977, lot 155

 

 

 

 

17

清雍正 粉青釉葫芦瓶（441万）

Height 32.8 cm 双圈六字篆书款

Provenance:

Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 23 May 1978, lot 227

 

 

 

 

 

19

清嘉庆 青花金红彩龙纹「懋勤殿」铭大印盒（441万）

Diameter 23 cm 六字篆书款

Provenance: Sotheby's, London, 13 December 1977, lot 539

 

 

 

 

 

8

清康熙 釉里红加彩月季纹苹果尊（441万）

Height 8.8 cm Estimate $2-3 million

Source: Hugh Moss (biography).

 

 

 

 

 

7

明正德 青花内朵云外双龙赶珠纹盘（403.2万）

Diameter 17.5 cm Estimate $1.5-2.5 million

Provenance: Marchant, London, 12 June 1988

 

 

 

 

 

3

明洪武 青花缠枝花卉纹菱口盏托（378万）

Diameter 19.5 cm Estimate $800,000-1,200,000

Provenance: Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 27 October 1992, lot 31

 

 

 

 

 

16

清雍正 仿木纹釉缸（302.4万）

Diameter 38.2 cm Six-character seal mark in seal script

Provenance: Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 16 May 1977, lot 153

 

 

 

 

 

1

南宋 龙泉青釉葵口盘（302.4万）

Diameter 15.9 cm Estimate $1,000,000-1,500,000

Provenance: Christie's, London, 10 December 1990, lot 114A

Sotheby's, New York, Harmony of Form, Serenity of Colour: A Private Collection of Song Ceramics, 23 March 2011, lot 510

 

 

 

 

 

9

清康熙 五彩莲塘鸳鸯图盌（277.2万）

Diameter 17.5 cm Estimate $800,000-1,200,000

Provenance: T.Y. King, Hong Kong

Bluett & Sons, London, 1966

Derek Ide, London, 1966

Bluett & Sons, London

F.W.A. (Fredrick) Knight, 1970

Bluett & Sons, London

Moss, 1976

 

 

 

 

 

13 

清雍正 柠檬黄釉茶圆一对（201.6万）

Diameter 8.2 cm Double-ringed six-character regular script mark

Provenance: Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 12 May 1976, lot 243

 

 

 

 

 

15 

清雍正 柠檬黄地凸雕绿彩夔龙纹盌（201.6万）

Diameter 23 cm Estimate 80-1.2 million

Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 23 May 1978, lot 168

Publication: Sotheby's Hong Kong 20th Anniversary, Hong Kong, 1993, plate no. 368

 

 

 

 

6

明正德 白地绿彩刻龙纹盘（201.6万）

Diameter 17.5 cm Estimate $600,000-800,000

Provenance: Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 22 May 1986, lot 214

 

 

 

 

10

清康熙 五彩龙凤呈祥纹盘（151.2万）

Diameter 21.5 cm Double-ringed six-character regular script mark

Provenance: Japanese private collection

Christie's, Hong Kong, 28 November 2006, lot 1533

American Private Collection, Christie's, Hong Kong, 1 December 2010, lot 3048

Exhibition: S. Marchant & Son, Recent Acquisitions, London, 2003, catalogue no. 5

 

 

 

 

 

2

元 青花龙纹玉壶春瓶（81.9万）

Height 28.5 cm

Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 28 April 1998, lot 726

Christie's Hong Kong, 1 June 2011, lot 3805

 

 

 

 

20

清光绪 凸雕矾红彩描金鱼龙幻化图天球瓶（75.6万）

Height 53.5 cm

 

 

 

 

21

民国 粉彩喜上眉稍纹瓶（63万）

Height 32 cm

Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 16 May 1977, lot 227