Hong Kong – Leading the art auction market in Asia, Christie’s will mark its 25th year in Hong Kong with its 2011 Hong Kong Spring Sales. The Spring Sales series this year will present a spectacular array of rare and exceptional collecting treasures ranging from Chinese paintings, ceramics and works of art, to iconic works modern masters and cutting-edge contemporary artists throughout Asia, as well as fine wine, magnificent jewellery and important watches. The sales will take place from 27 May to 1 June at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. – FTP links to all images and captions are located at the end of the document.

Finest and Rarest Wines

Part I: Rarities from the Cellars of Château Latour

Friday, 27 May, 5.30pm, Saleroom 2

Part II: A Vintage Retrospective: Masterworks from The SK Collection

Saturday, 28 May, 12pm – 6pm, Saleroom 2

Christie’s Hong Kong Finest and Rarest Wines two-day sales will open with a once in a lifetime auction of Bordeaux’s legendary First Growth, Château Latour. Top Château Latour vintages spanning over two incredible centuries will be available for the first time at this season’s sale. These selected top vintages between 1863-2009 are released directly by Château Latour in early 2011 and transported to Christie’s environment controlled wine storage in Hong Kong

All the bottles have been inspected and authenticated by Chateau Latour’s winemaking team and CEO, Frédéric Engere. Every bottle in this sale bears a ‘Prooftag’ seal - a special traceability and authentication system. Back Labels also state: “This bottle was released directly from the cellar of Château Latour in April 2011 specifically for Christie’s auction in Hong Kong on May 27th 2011”.

Following the success of the first sale of MODERN CLASSICS: A Selection from the SK Networks Collection in September 2010 with 100% sold, totalling HK$48.13 million, Christie’s is delighted to work with The SK Networks again to present another pristine Bordeaux selection on the second day of Finest and Rarest Wines.

This time, the Vintage Retrospective Masterworks from The SK Collection provides a unique opportunity to secure some memorable vintages spanning the last three decades, such as 1982, 1990, 2000 and 2005 with pristine provenance. These vintages are not just house hold names today. They are living legends for many more years to come. These vintages are firmly established in the market place as true collectables. They will appreciate in value as well as delectable complexity with time.

Asian Contemporary Art & Chinese 20th Century Art (Evening Sale)

Saturday, 28 May, 7pm, Saleroom 1

Chinese 20th Century Art (Day Sale)

Sunday, 29 May, 10.30am, Saleroom 1

Asian Contemporary Art (Day Sale)

Sunday, 29 May, 2.30pm, Saleroom 1

Among the many highlights of the Asian Contemporary Art this season is Liu Ye’s work Bleah!, a classic large scale work painted in 1999, signals several important shifts in Liu Ye's career and practice. In the mid-1990s, after Liu finishing his studies in Europe, red, largely absent from his earlier works, has increasingly dominated the canvas. He has begun simplifying the figures and scenes with geometric form; in Bleah!, the structure of the symmetric composition further perfects the world constructed by the artist.

The title “bleah” is an interjection, which children may sometimes cry when they are disgusted with something or someone. However, the three angelic children in the foreground just stick out their tongues and seem not to express the apparent feelings; Bleah! then makes for a deceptively innocuous and playful scene, enticing the audience to consider the implication conveyed. Beneath the fairytale-like appearance, the multiple relationships between outward and inward practicing within Bleah!, in fact insinuate the psychological dimension of the individual self, reflecting the uncertainty and anxiety felt towards the external reality.

Leading the Chinese 20th Century Art selection from Zao Wou-ki this season is 14.11.63. The abstract art of Zao Wou-ki has deep roots in the great landscape painting tradition of China's Sung and Yuan dynasties, but his work also belongs to the Western oil painting tradition. By the mid-1950s and the 1960s, Zao Wou-ki had begun to create art with an unequivocally individual character, giving the work presented here, 14.11.63, its special aesthetic and historical significance. In 14.11.63, brushwork and colour expand on a broader scale, lines and brushstrokes leap from the canvas with surprising strength and energy, as if documenting the artist's shifts from calmness to agitation during this period.

The work was first exhibited at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – the New Gallery and purchased and kept in a private collection ever since. Its exhibition and collection history further highlight its rarity and value.

Southeast Asian Modern and Contemporary Art

Monday, 30 May, 10.30am, Saleroom 1

Among the top works offered in the sale this season is Anak Bermain Layangan (Boy with Kite). This is a distinctive work by acclaimed Indonesian modern artist Sudjana Kerton. Despite spending most of his adult life in Europe and America, Kerton’s works retain a strong nationalistic sentiment. Exploring the characteristics of Indonesian identity through relatable visual narratives, Kerton often depicted people within the local community going through the motions of everyday tasks. This present work, one of his last full paintings, returns to his favourite theme – the unquenchable spirit of Indonesians who can find joy even within simplicity, such as a boy gazing skyward at a kite in flight.

Important Watches

Monday, 30 May, 11.30am & 2.30pm, Saleroom 2

A rare timepiece from Patek Philippe, ref. 2499 is among the lead highlights in the Spring sale of Important Watches.

Universally recognized as one of the most important references ever to be produced, the Patek Philippe 2499 stands as an icon of complicated wristwatch manufacture. Introduced to the market in 1950, the 2499 replaced the legendary reference 1518, the world's first perpetual calendar wristwatch with chronograph made in series. Over the next 35 years Patek Philippe produced only 349 pieces of this consummate model with the vast majority in yellow gold. The rarity of this reference becomes even more evident when considering that an average of only nine watches left the firm’s workbench each year at this time in their history.

The present watch comes to the market direct from the descendants of the original owner and is a superlative example of the third series of this reference. Remaining in extremely fine condition this tremendously rare watch stands as only the fifth example of the third series of the reference 2499 in pink gold to ever come to the public market. With its combination of desirable attributes including superb pedigree, extreme rarity, exceptional condition and freshness to the market one might find it hard to find a better example of a true collector’s timepiece at auction this season.

Fine Chinese Classical Paintings and Calligraphy

Tuesday, 31 May, 10am, Saleroom 1

Wang Duo, born in Mengjin, Henan Province, was a government official in late Ming and early Qing Dynasty, as well as a renowned painter and calligrapher. He is best known for his rendition of the Cursive script, the form considered most expressive in Chinese calligraphy. This season the Fine Chinese Classical Paintings and Calligraphy sale is offering Wang Duo’s Poem in Cursive Script Calligraphy, an exquisite calligraphy satin handscroll – with over three metres in length, the scroll is a piece of performance in itself, where Wang’s powerful and carefree brushstroke expresses itself fearless and effectively in front of its viewers.

Fine Chinese Modern Paintings

Tuesday, 31 May, 2pm, Saleroom 1

The Fine Chinese Modern Paintings sale offers a wide array of works that date from the late 19th and 20th century to the present day. Leading the sale this season is Wu Guanzhong’s Roar. Painted in the 1980s, it is a spectacular and unusually large-scale painting that captures Wu’s ingenious interpretation of the powerful, seemingly chaotic movement of a roaring river through ink and colour. This painting is part of an important private collection that we are offering this season, with 30 works featuring works by masters Wu Guanzhong, Zhang Daqian and Lin Fengmian.

Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels

Tuesday, 31 May, 2pm, Saleroom 2

Leading the Magnificent Jewels sale this season is the beautiful pair of diamond earring, The Imperial Cushions. The pair of D Internally Flawless diamonds is an extraordinary set, each gem weighing in excess of 20 ct (23.11ct and 23.49ct respectively).

Besides the exceptional size and quality of the gemstones, they are fashioned in the cushion shaped cutting style as a perfectly matched pair. The cushion form is seen in many historic gems including The Koh i Noor, The Agra and The Regent. The pair of stones illustrated here are as rare as you can possibly find and would be at home in any royal collection anywhere in the world. As a testament to their quality both of these diamonds are classified as Type IIa, chemically pure and the rarest of diamond types. It is the virtual lack of chemical impurities which accounts for their superior colour and transparency. Taken singly each diamond is a superb specimen, yet as a perfectly matched pair, they represent something unique.

The Imperial Sale

Wednesday, 1 June, 10am, Saleroom 1

Inspired Connoisseurship: Property from a European Collection

Wednesday, 1 June, Saleroom 1

Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art

Wednesday, 1 June, 2.30pm, Saleroom 1

Christie’s Spring sales of Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art will feature a broad array of masterpieces across a number of collecting categories including ceramics and jades. Leading the sale is an important and very rare Ming doucai stemcup. The delicate doucai wares of the Chenghua reign stand out since they have enjoyed continuous and universal admiration for over 500 years. In the late 16th century, only a hundred years after they were made, Chenghua doucai porcelains could change hands between collectors for as much as 100,000 taels of silver.

It is probable that this exquisite stemcup was made in the 1480s when, during the latter part of Chenghua Emperor’s reign, the emperor’s interest in Buddhism led him to adopt the robes of a monk when Buddhist ceremonies were held at court, and to manufacture a vessel decorated with Buddhist emblems - such as the lotus flowers, which adorn this stemcup. Similar stemcups have been excavated at the site of the imperial kiln from the stratum dated to the period 1481-1487. The coloured overglaze enamels on this, and other Chenghua doucai porcelains were fired to a relatively low temperature. It is a testament to the esteem in which they were held that these exquisite porcelains, nevertheless, continued to be treasured in the imperial collection of the last Chinese emperor.