This season’s Christie’s Hong Kong Asian Art Week presented six live auctions across three major departments, achieving a combined total of over HK$954 million (US$123 million). The result marks a 13% increase from the same period last year and represents the highest autumn sale total for Asian art in Hong Kong since 2018 for the auction house.
Mainland Chinese collectors accounted for half of the total sales, making them the top regional buyers this season. Meanwhile, online spending rose by 47% year-on-year, underscoring the continued digital transformation in the auction world.
Since the onset of COVID-19 in late 2019, the Asian art market has faced persistent challenges. This season’s strong results suggest that the market is now showing clear signs of recovery.
Editor’s note: Two online-only auctions at Christie’s Hong Kong remain open for bidding until 11 November – one featuring the Chinese painting collection of former Taipei Palace Museum Deputy Director Chiang Chao-shen, and the other, the regular thematic sale, Pavilion Online: Chinese and Asian Art. Once concluded, these sales are expected to bring the season’s total to HK$1 billion.
Christie's star auctioneer Liang-lin Chen
Key Figures – Christie’s Hong Kong Autumn 2025 Asian Art Week
- Total sales realized: HK$954,583,170
- Hammer total: 136% of low estimate
- Bidders from 23 countries across five continents
- Mainland Chinese buyers contributed 50% of total sales
- Southeast Asian spending increased 88% year-on-year
- 24% of buyers were Millennials or younger
- Online sales totals rose by 47% year-on-year
Carmen Shek Cerne | Head of Department, Chinese Paintings
Ni Zan (1301-1374) | River Pavilion, Mountain Colours | Sold: HK$159,950,000
Fu Baoshi (1904-1965) | Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove | Sold: HK$59,060,000
A group of ten Zhang Daqian paintings formerly in the collection of Mrs. Pauline Tao, daughter of Zhang Xueliang, and her husband Professor P.F. Tao, sold for over HK$24 million
Chinese Paintings | 28-29 October
- Classical Paintings and Calligraphy brought in nearly HK$272 million, while Modern and Contemporary Ink Paintings totaled over HK$234 million
- The two auctions combined achieved more than HK$506 million—an 86% increase from the same period last year
- Average hammer total reached 221% of the low estimate
- Leading the category was Ni Zan’s River Pavilion, Mountain Colours from the Yuan dynasty, which hammered for 6.75 times its presale estimate and soared to HK$160 million
- In the Modern and Contemporary Ink section, the top result went to Fu Baoshi’s Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, which hammered at three times the estimate and achieved HK$59 million
- Several single-owner collections saw 100% sell-through rates; among them, the North American private collection that featured the Ni Zan painting hammered at over 600% of its low estimate
Marco Almeida | Head of Department, Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art
An imperial Beijing enamel 'geese and quails' tiered ink stone warmer box and cover, with Duan ink stone | Qianlong period | Sold: HK$37,100,000
A yangcai ‘poppy’ bowl | Yongzheng period | Sold: HK$17,458,000
A Ding carved ‘peony’ vase | Northern Song Dynasty | Sold: HK$22,460,000
Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art | 30 October
- This season featured two specially curated single-owner sales: The Ai Lian Tang Collection: Imperial Scholar’s Objects, which achieved over HK$146 million, and The Au Bak Ling Collection: Volume II, which realized nearly HK$108 million
- The regular sale, Important Chinese and Asian Works of Art, recorded over HK$115 million
- The three auctions combined totaled approximately HK$370 million
- Overall hammer total reached 112% of the low estimate, with 43% of lots selling above their high estimates
- The leading lot across all three sales was an imperial Beijing enamel ‘geese and quails’ tiered inkstone warmer box and cover from The Ai Lian Tang Collection, which hammered at 2.5 times its estimate and sold for HK$37 million
- Topping The Au Bak Ling Collection was a fine and extremely rare yangcai 'poppy' bowl, which hammered at 2.3 times its estimate and realized nearly HK$17.5 million
- A Ding carved ‘peony’ vase from the Sir Alan Barlow Collection led the regular sale, achieving HK$22.46 million
Edward Wilkinson | Global Head of Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art
An imperial gilt copper alloy figure of Avalokiteshvara | Yuan Dynasty, late 13th/early 14th century | Sold: HK$24,900,000
A gilt copper figure of Shakyamuni Buddha | Nepal, Licchavi Period, circa 8th century | Sold: HK$9,525,000
A thangka of Shakyamuni's parinirvana attributed to Choying Dorje, 10th Karmapa | Sold: HK$9,525,000
Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art | 3 November
- This marked Christie’s first dedicated sale of Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art held in the Asia-Pacific
- The auction achieved a total of nearly HK$78 million
- The sale was spearheaded by Edward Wilkinson, a leading figure in the field who joined Christie’s earlier this year
- A cross-departmental panel discussion, co-hosted with the Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art department ahead of the sale, drew a lively and engaged audience
- The top lot was an imperial Yuan dynasty Guanyin sculpture from Dadu (modern-day Beijing), which achieved HK$24.9 million
A white jade 'butterfly' bowl and cover | Qianlong period | Special exhibition
A pale greenish-white jade 'three friends of winter' circular table screen | Qianlong period | Special exhibition
Special Exhibition
- This season, Christie’s presented Celestial Form, Earthly Radiance – Chinese Jade from the Angela and Kin Bon Chua Collection, an exhibition showcasing a refined selection of Qing dynasty jade carvings amassed over the past 35 years by the Hong Kong collectors
- The exhibition, alongside the broader sales preview, drew nearly 7,000 visitors