We witnessed significant achievements in the Luxury cluster this season, which realised an annual total of HK$2.18B (US$281M) in Asia, the highest since 2015. A sell-through rate of 91% by lot denotes our exceptional sale curation. Handbags recorded its highest ever annual sale total globally, and a 94% average sell-through rate. Watches achieved its highest ever annual sale total in the region, and fetched a HK$222M (US$29M) seasonal total. Jewellery realised its second highest Autumn Auction total in Asia of HK$514M (US$66M), with the top lot — The Pink Supreme, sold for HK$84M (US$11M). Wine also achieved a strong total of HK$54M (US$7M), and saw the Dr. A.Botenga collection 98% sold.

20th/21st Century Art saw a solid sell-through rate of close to 90% by lot. Sanyu’s Nude on Tapestry sold for over HK$187M (US$24M), demonstrating continued market appetite for Chinese modern works, while Kusama’s A Flower realised over HK$78M (US$10M) and became the second highest auction price for the artist. The upper and middle market remains robust, with 20 works sold for over HK$10M. This season also saw 11 artist records broken, a thriving market for Southeast Asian art, and a high demand for Western art, especially in our Post-Millennium Evening Sale which we were honoured to collaborate with Jay Chou.

The Asian Art live auctions achieved HK$918M (US$118M), the highest autumn sale total for the cluster since 2018. Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art realised a market-leading autumn sale total of HK$524M (US$68M), driven by the extremely rare and exceptional Tianminlou Collection, which totalled HK$260M (US$33M) and saw a remarkable 168% hammer over low estimate. The various-owner sale saw a 117% hammer over low estimate, and was led by the ‘Dragon’ tianqiuping which sold for HK$56M (US$7M), more than double its high estimate. Chinese Paintings achieved a combined total of HK$393M (US$50M) across two live sales, with the Modern sale led by Wu Guanzhong’s A Hill City, while the top lot of the Classical sale, Zhu Yunming’s Cursive Script Calligraphy, sold for close to 4 times its low estimate.

Our efforts to cultivate tastes and collecting demand continued with the Brotherhood In Genius Giacometti brothers exhibition, which was widely attended and gained significant media exposure. Furthermore, by hosting the Art + Sustainability forum, we again demonstrated Christie’s responsible leadership in the industry.