A vase with a twin at a Beijing museum may fetch $18 million ($2.3 million) in Hong Kong, a top lot at the first China auction by Christie’s International since the company’s sale of looted Qing bronzes in Paris.

The blue-and-white dragon vase, bearing the mark of Emperor Yongzheng (reign: 1723-1735), is one of 1,600 paintings, gems and antiques that Christie’s expects to sell for HK$750 million ($96 million) at its four-day auction starting on May 24. The item once belonged to Hong Kong antiques doyen Robert Chang.

The sale will test Chinese buyers’ willingness to buy from Christie’s after the company’s Feb. 25 sale of bronzes, plundered by foreign troops in the 19th century, which sparked outrage in China. The government imposed controls on Christie’s in mainland China after the Yves Saint Laurent collection’s auction in Paris. Cai Mingchao, the Chinese dealer who placed the winning $40 million bid, refused to pay.

Hong Kong is Christie’s third-biggest market after New York and London and its hub for the sale of Chinese antiquities, with revenue of more than HK$1 billion last year. Christie’s had a record number of Chinese buyers at its New York and London auctions this month, a sign of their growing importance, Andrew Foster, Christie’s Asia president, said in an e-mail.

Wu Qun, a Beijing-based Chinese antiques collector and dealer, said the bronzes furor hasn’t put him off Christie’s.

“The bronzes sale and buying from Christie’s are separate matters,” said Wu, who made the winning HK$23 million bid on a Xuande era (1426-1435) blue-and-white bowl with Tibetan script at a Hong Kong sale in April by Christie’s rival, Sotheby’s. Wu said he may buy at Christie’s auction.

Automaton Clock

Other highlights at Christie’s antiques sale include the twin of a Qing Dynasty clock that fetched a record HK$39.5 million last May. The 30-inch-tall musical-and-automaton clock, which decorated the palace during Emperor Qianlong’s reign (1736-1795), is expected to fetch as much as HK$15 million, Christie’s said.

Christie’s scaled back this year’s auction amid the economic slowdown. The comparable sale last year offered 2,400 items over six days and took a record HK$2.4 billion, against the company’s own presale estimate of HK$1.7 billion.

Subsequent auctions in New York, London and Dubai fell short of estimates, spelling an art-world rout after the Sept. 15 bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and the ensuing credit and stock-market crisis.

“The biggest change is a smaller, tightly curated contemporary sale, with estimates that ensure the market can see opportunities in bidding,” said Foster.

Sotheby’s Sale

Last month, Sotheby’s raised HK$691 million at its Hong Kong auction of 1,700 items, compared with the HK$1.77 billion it raised a year ago.

The Artprice Global Index, which tracks sales of fine-art works, says art prices track stock and currency markets. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index, which charts the region’s stock-market movement, has risen to 130, the highest this year, compared with an average of 99 on the days Sotheby’s held its auction.

“The mood has improved,” said Tian Kai, a Beijing-based contemporary-art dealer and collector, a regular at Hong Kong auctions. “People are more optimistic and willing to buy.”

Another highlight at the auction is a brown-and-black themed painting, “Nous Deux” (“We Two”) by China-born, Paris-based master Zao Wou-ki. The 1957 painting is expected to fetch as much as HK$15 million.

The star lot in the contemporary-art category is Liu Ye’s 2005 oil-on-canvas “Boogie Woogie, Little Girl in New York,” which is expected to sell for up to HK$6 million.

Christie’s and rival Sotheby’s hold biannual sales in the city and the results serve as industry bellwethers.