This season, Christie’s Hong Kong Asian Art Week presented two heavyweight single-owner sales: The Ai Lian Tang Collection – Imperial Scholar’s Objects and The Au Bak Ling Collection Volume II, both offered on 30 October.
First to go under the hammer was The Ai Lian Tang Collection, where bidding proved more intense than anticipated. Of the 25 lots presented, only three failed to find new homes, achieving an 88% sell-through rate. The total hammer price reached HK$129 million, exceeding the total estimate of HK$93 million by 39%. Including buyer’s premium, the total sale realized HK$146 million (US$18.9 million).
One telephone bidder, with paddle 8401, accounted for nearly HK$61 million in purchases – including the top lot of the sale: an imperial Beijing enamel ink stone warmer from the Qianlong period, decorated with geese and quails, a Guan mallow-shaped lobed washer from the Southern Song dynasty – the sale's third-highest lot – and a rare imperial Songhua ink stone.
Christie's star auctioneer Liang-lin Chen
Lot 814 | An imperial Beijing enamel 'geese and quails' tiered ink stone warmer box and cover, with Duan ink stone
Qianlong four-character mark in blue enamel within a double square and of the period (1736-1795)
Height: 10.8 cm
Provenance:
- An American private collection
- J.J. Lally & Co., New York
- Hugh Moss (HK) Ltd., Hong Kong
- Nino Marakovic Collection
- Property from a private European Collection; sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, The World of Qianlong, 27 April 2003, lot 4
Estimate: HK$12,000,000 - 18,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$30,000,000
Sold: HK$37,100,000
The imperial Beijing enamel ink stone warmer opened at approximately HK$10 million and quickly drew spirited bidding between two collectors, represented respectively by Chi-Fan Tsang (International Director, Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art) and Yvonne Jiang (Senior Sale Coordinator, same department).
After 24 rounds of bidding, auctioneer Liang-lin Chen brought the hammer down at HK$30 million, selling the lot to Tsang’s client with paddle 8401 – who would go on to acquire two additional highlights from the sale.
Crafted in painted enamel on copper, this tiered octagonal box showcases a technique introduced from Europe in the early Qing dynasty, where enamel pigments were applied directly onto a copper body. Under imperial patronage, the craft reached new heights at the Beijing Palace Workshops and later expanded to other materials, including porcelain (famille-rose), glass, and gilt metal.
While most enamel-on-copper objects take the form of jars, bowls, or snuff bottles, ink stone warmers – designed specifically for the scholar's studio to prevent ink from freezing in winter – are remarkably rare. Though mentioned in historical texts as early as the Tang dynasty, few examples survive.
This piece comprises four compartments. The cover is delicately enamelled with a riverside scene: two geese in flight, wings outstretched against a pale blue sky, soar above four others standing by the riverbank, facing a pair of quails perched on a blue rock. The composition is rendered with extraordinary finesse, rivaling the finest enamels of the Yongzheng period – a level of workmanship that suggests a production date in the early Qianlong reign.
The surrounding flora, rocks, and grasses are rendered in vibrant enamels and framed by an orange hatched border. The sides feature rectangular cartouches, each enclosing a different floral scroll motif, while a central gilt-bronze band is cast with openwork peony designs. The entire piece is supported on eight ruyi-form feet.
Inside, the top layer houses a conforming octagonal Duan ink stone with a small oval aperture. Below it lies a deep receptacle with a semi-circular divider to hold water. The base tier contains a circular bronze-handled tray meant for holding charcoal. The interior base is enamelled turquoise, and the underside bears a four-character Qianlong mark in blue enamel.
According to Zhang Rong, a scholar at the Palace Museum in Beijing, the Qianlong Emperor personally commissioned two enamel-painted octagonal ink stone warmers in the first year of his reign. This piece is believed to be one of the two.
Lot 811 | An exceptional Guan mallow-shaped lobed washer
Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279)
Diameter: 12.1 cm
Provenance:
- Sir Harry Garner (1891-1977)
- The collection of R.F.A Riesco (1877-1964), Heathfield, UK, acquired in 1952
- The collection of the Corporation of Croydon
- Sold at Sotheby's London, 11 December 1984, lot 206
- Sold at Sotheby's London, 5 December 1995, lot 246
- Sold at Sotheby's London, 12 June 2003, lot 104
Estimate: HK$5,000,000 - 8,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$16,000,000
Sold: HK$20,200,000
Among the “Five Great Kilns” of the Song dynasty – Ru, Guan, Ge, Ding, and Jun – only Ru and Guan wares have surpassed the HK$100 million mark at auction.
The aesthetic ideals of the Song period marked a shift from the opulence of earlier courts. Emperor Huizong (r. 1100–1126), the last great ruler of the Northern Song, championed restraint, naturalism, and elegance – values reflected in the quiet sophistication of Ru ware.
After the Jurchen conquest in 1127 forced the court south, access to the Ru kilns was lost. In response, new imperial kilns were established in Hangzhou, producing what became known as guan ware. Though born of necessity, it evolved into one of China’s most iconic ceramic traditions.
Made from iron-rich southern clay, guan ware reveals a dark body at the rim (“purple mouth”) and foot (“iron foot”). Its celadon glaze, often applied in layers, produces a soft, modulated surface, while its signature crackle patterns – once considered flaws – came to be celebrated as hallmarks of beauty.
What distinguishes guan ware is its diversity and individuality. Productions vary in form, size, glaze tone, crackle, and profile, with each piece hand-shaped rather than mass-produced.
The present brush washer, potted with eight lobes in the shape of mallow petals, was fired on six spurs, allowing it to be fully glazed. While it lacks a conventional foot ring, the firing scars reveal the rust-toned body beneath the glaze.
Despite guan ware’s fame, much about its production remains unclear. Some of the finest examples cannot be traced to known kiln sites, and excavation of possible court storage areas is ongoing.
Lot 816 | A rare imperial Songhua ink stone, box and cover
Qianlong four-character incised seal mark within a square and of the period (1736-1795)
Length: 12.6 cm
Provenance:
- Offered at Christie's Hong Kong, 30 October 2001, lot 609
Estimate: HK$2,400,000 - 3,500,000
Hammer Price: HK$3,000,000
Sold: HK$3,810,000
This ink stone is carved from Songhua stone, quarried at the foot of Mount Changbai. Its natural striations and soft green tone are beautifully complemented by the ochre-yellow and ivory hues of the original box and cover. A crescent-shaped ink pool, carved with cloud motifs, echoes the twin phoenixes soaring amid clouds on the cover – a design rich in auspicious symbolism.
Songhua stone, sourced from the ancestral homeland of the Manchu people, was prized during the Qing dynasty for its natural gradation of verdant hues and velvety texture. Upon its discovery, Emperor Kangxi designated it an imperial material for ink stones. The palace workshops produced Songhua ink stones throughout his reign, and the tradition of imperial gifting continued under Yongzheng and Qianlong.
The inscription on the reverse quotes the Northern Song scholar Tang Geng, who believed that calmness of mind was essential to both scholarship and longevity. Such inscriptions were commonly added to imperial Songhua ink stones as gentle reminders for the recipient to preserve their well-being and ensure a long and healthy life.
Although Songhua ink stones were produced in considerable quantities, few survive today with their original boxes and covers intact. Most are now held in museum collections, making this piece exceptionally rare.
Other Highlight Lots:
Lot 803 | An imperial yangcai inscribed 'three purities tea' celadon-ground teapot and cover
Qianlong six-character seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795)
Height: 13 cm
Provenance:
- Sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 20 May 1986, lot 129
- Chang Foundation, Taipei, prior to 1990
Estimate: HK$30,000,000 - 40,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$20,000,000
Sold: HK$24,900,000
Lot 808 | A magnificent and extremely rare emerald-green jadeite archaistic censer and cover, fangding
Late Qing dynasty
Height: 16.5 cm
Provenance:
- Baron Fujita Denzaburo (1841-1912), Osaka
- Sold at an auction organised by Osaka Bijitsu Club, held at the Baron Fujita family residence, on 10 May 1929, no. 238
- Sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 2 May 2000, lot 797
Estimate: HK$6,000,000 - 8,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$12,000,000
Sold: HK$15,140,000
Lot 810 | A fine and extremely rare porcelain imitation cloisonné enamel ‘lotus’ tripod censer
Qianlong six-character impressed seal mark within a rectangle and of the period (1736-1795)
Width: 11.7 cm
Provenance:
- The J. M. Hu (1911-1995), Zande Lou Collection
- Sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 30 May 2005, lot 1240
Estimate: HK$6,000,000 - 8,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$6,400,000
Sold: HK$8,128,000
Lot 806 | An important and very rare 'zhuque' black-lacquered qin
Dated by inscription to the 3rd year of the zhizheng reign of yuan dynasty, corresponding to 1343 and of the period
Length: 119 cm
Provenance:
- Ming Dynasty Ninghua Prince, Zhu Biaochao (1503-1570)
- Zeng Yu (1760-1831)
- Zhang Mengze (1836-1885)
- Wu Dacheng (1835-1902)
- Wu Hufan (1894-1968) and Pan Jingshu (1892-1939)
- Master of the Water, Pine and Stone Retreat, circa 1980s
Estimate: HK$2,000,000 - 3,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$6,100,000
Sold: HK$7,747,000
Lot 801 | A fine pair of doucai ‘figural’ tea bowls
Kangxi six-character marks in underglaze blue within double circles and of the period (1662-1722)
Diameter: 9.5 cm
Provenance:
- Sold at Christie's London, 8 June 1987, lot 73
- Chang Foundation, Taipei, prior to 1990
Estimate: HK$1,200,000 - 1,800,000
Hammer Price: HK$3,800,000
Sold: HK$4,826,000
Lot 809 | A superb hardstone-inlaid gilt-bronze luduan-form censer and cover
Qianlong period (1736-1795)
Height: 22.5 cm
Provenance:
- Sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 15 May 1990, lot 365
Estimate: HK$1,800,000 - 2,500,000
Hammer Price: HK$3,800,000
Sold: HK$4,826,000
Lot 823 | A fine rare miniature blue and white ‘persimmon and long-tailed bird’ moonflask
Yongzheng period (1723-1735)
Height: 10.8 cm
Provenance:
- Collection of Edward T. Chow (1910-1980)
- Sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, The Edward T. Chow Collection, 19 May 1981, lot 543
- Sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 28-29 April 1992, lot 118
Estimate: HK$400,000 - 600,000
Hammer Price: HK$2,500,000
Sold: HK$3,175,000
Lot 812 | A rare trompe l'oeil celadon-glazed ‘beetle’ leaf-form ink palette
Qianlong four-character seal mark in underglaze blue in a line and of the period (1736-1795)
Length: 14.7 cm
Provenance:
- Sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 26 April 1999, lot 510
Estimate: HK$600,000 - 800,000
Hammer Price: HK$2,300,000
Sold: HK$2,921,000
Lot 805 | An imperial gilt-inscribed celadon jade ‘sutra on the eight realisations of great beings’ album and carved boxwood covers
Qianlong period (1736-1795)
Length: 10.6 cm
Provenance:
- Acquired in Asia in 1998
Estimate: HK$1,500,000 - 2,500,000
Hammer Price: HK$2,200,000
Sold: HK$2,794,000
Lot 804 | An imperial inscribed white jade ‘luohan cudapanthaka’ boulder
Qianlong-Jiaqing period (1736-1820)
Height: 19.6 cm
Provenance:
- S. Bernstein & Co., Jade & Oriental Art, San Francisco, no.3473, according to label
Estimate: HK$1,200,000 - 2,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$2,000,000
Sold: HK$2,540,000
Lot 822 | A fine rare copper-red decorated ‘phoenix’ mallet-shaped vase, yaolingzun
Qianlong six-character seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795)
Height: 18 cm
Provenance:
- Chang Foundation, Taipei, prior to 1990
Estimate: HK$600,000 - 800,000
Hammer Price: HK$2,000,000
Sold: HK$2,540,000
Auction Details:
Auction House: Christie's Hong Kong
Sale: The Ai Lian Tang Collection – Imperial Scholar’s Objects
Date: 30 October 2025
Number of Lots: 25
Sold: 22
Unsold: 3
Sale Rate: 88%
Sale Total: HK$146,537,600