Each May, Hong Kong enters a dense season of cultural programming, as museum openings, gallery exhibitions, and fairs converge on the city. Among the anchor events on this calendar is the International Antiques Fair (IAF), which over the past decade has become a key meeting point for collectors, dealers, and scholars of historical art.
In 2026, the fair will make its return to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, with a VIP preview on 1 May followed by public days from 2 to 5 May. Alongside a rich array of exhibits, the fair will feature special exhibitions, themed talks, on‑site antique appraisals, and guided tours.
Exhibitor applications are currently being processed, with further details to be announced.
IAF 2025
IAF 2025
IAF 2025
IAF 2025
IAF 2025
IAF 2025
As in previous years, the IAF will draw galleries and dealers from across Asia, Europe, and North America, presenting material that spans several millennia of Chinese art, alongside antiques from other parts of Asia and the West. Objects on display will include porcelain, jade, lacquerware, metalwork, jewellery, classical furniture, and religious sculpture, among others.
One of the highlights at the 2025 fair was an imperial manual of birds by Jiang Tingxi, a Qing-dynasty court painter and minister. Commissioned by the Kangxi Emperor, the complete project comprises 360 handscrolls devoted to ornithological subjects, rendered in a refined combination of traditional gongbi brushwork and Western painting techniques. Over time, the work was lost from the imperial archives, and only a small number of volumes survive today.
The group shown at last year’s fair, rediscovered by the London auction house Roseberys and held in private hands for almost a century, marked a significant reappearance. Whereas pages from Bird Book had previously surfaced only as individual leaves or in small clusters, the IAF presentation brought together nineteen complete scrolls, with paintings and texts intact.
Note: Following the exhibition, Roseberys divided the rediscovered scrolls into two lots. Offered at auction, they achieved a combined total of more than £780,000.
The imperial manual of birds on view at IAF 2025
The imperial manual of birds on view at IAF 2025
Another highlight last year was a special exhibition exploring the legacy of the Thirteen Factories in Guangzhou – the Qing dynasty merchant guilds that once controlled foreign trade in China – presenting export porcelains, armorial wares, and other objects produced for Western merchants. On opening day, IAF founder William Chak delivered a thematic talk on the subject, bringing the era to life through storytelling grounded in both scholarship and personal perspective.
The final two days of the fair turned to Hong Kong's tea culture. Heritage tea houses presented on the development of traditional tea shops and tea‑ceremony practices, while visitors were invited to tastings and demonstrations featuring aged teas, including Liu Bao and Pu’er.
Veteran tea masters brewed on site using traditional Chaozhou gongfu methods, highlighting tea not only as a daily drink, but as a performance, a craft, and a social ritual in its own right.
IAF founder William Chak speaking at IAF 2025
IAF 2025
IAF 2025
IAF 2025
IAF 2025
On-site appraisal during IAF 2025
Tea ceremony demonstration during IAF 2025
Tea ceremony during IAF 2025
International Antiques Fair 2026
Venue: Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre - Hall 3FG
Address: 1 Expo Drive, Wanchai, Hong Kong
Exhibition Date: 3 – 7 May 2025 (Saturday to Wednesday)
Events:
• Special Exhibition on The Thirteen Factories
• On-Site Antiques Appraisals
• Lectures
• Guided Tours