Fu Baoshi (1904 - 1965), "Chess Playing", ink and colour on paper, framed, signed FU BAOSHI, dated gui wei, 1943, the seventh lunar month, with three seals of the artist, and three collector's seals; 87.7 by 59.9 cm. 34 1/2 by 23 1/2 in. Est. 5,000,000—7,000,000 HKD. Lot Sold 38,740,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's

HONG KONG.- Sotheby’s Hong Kong Fine Chinese Paintings Spring Sale 2010 held today achieved a total of HK$418,212,000/ US$53,616,923, the highest total Sotheby’s has ever achieved for a various-owner Fine Chinese Paintings Sale. Together with the sale of Important Chinese Paintings from the Robert Chang Collection (Part 3), Sotheby’s Hong Kong also established today the highest combined total for any seasonal sale series in this category.

C.K. Cheung, Sotheby's Head of Fine Chinese Paintings department, discussing the sale, said: “Today's sales of Fine Chinese Paintings saw unprecedented success, with the phenomenal total sale result – combined Various-Owner and Single- Owner – of HK$418 million (against a presale combined estimate of HK$241,097,000-289,858,000/ US$30,919,871-97,161,280), achieving Sotheby's highest ever seasonal total for this category. Our results are testament to the appeal of our strategy of assembling a sale of great quality works, fresh to the market at attractive estimates and letting the market set the prices. Buyers and bidders both in the packed saleroom and participating on the telephone through Sotheby's representatives from all over Asia responded with extraordinary enthusiasm, and especially during the Various-Owners portion of the sale collectors frequently ignored presale estimates to pursue desirable works: Fu Baoshi's "Chess Playing" from 1943 sold for HK$38.74 million multiplying the estimate of HK$5-7million, while Zhang Daqian’s 1981 "Hanging Scroll Landscape" brought HK$21,94 million (est. HK$3.2-4.5 million) and his 1948 "Landscape After Ancient Master" (Lot 652) more than tripled its high estimate (HK$5 million) to fetch the impressive price of HK$16.34 million; Pan Tianshou’s "Hen On The Rock" fetched HK$17.46 million, doubling its high estimate of HK$7 million. From the Robert Chang Collection (Part 3), the renowned ink master Qi Baishi’s exceptional work "Tiger" (Lot 527) commanded the strong price of over HK$32 million and there was keen competition for the works of Fu Baoshi and Lin Fengmian as well.”

Various-Owner Sale of Fine Chinese Paintings
• Estimate: HK$72,897,000-102,958,000 / US$9,345,769-13,199,743
• Total: HK$304,897,000 / US$39,089,358

Important Chinese Paintings from the Robert Chang Collection (Part 3)
• Estimate: HK$168,200,000-186,900,000/ US$21,564,102-23,961,538
• Total: HK$113,315,000 / US$14,527,564

Zhang Daqian (Chang Dai-Chien, 1899-1983), "Hanging Scroll Landscape", splashed ink and colour on paper, hanging scroll, signed DAQIAN ZHANG YUAN, dated the seventieth year of the Republic of China, xin you, 1981, the seventeenth day of the third lunar month, inscribed, dedicated to Jiang Zhaoshen, with four seals of the artist, and four collector's seals of Jiang Zhaoshen. Titleslip and annotations by Jiang Zhaoshen; 84.8 by 159.4 cm. 33 3/8 by 62 3/4 in. Est. 3,200,000—4,500,000 HKD. Lot Sold 21,940,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's

LITERATURE AND REFERENCES: A Chang Dai-chien Appears Only Once a Half-Millennium, written by Hwang Tien-tsai, Shi Jh Tang Press Ltd., Taipei, November 1998, p. 262

Zhang Daqian (Chang Dai-chien 1899-1983), "Landscape After Ancient Master", ink and colour on paper, handscroll, signed YUAN, dated wu zi, 1948, the twenty-fourth day of the seventh lunar month, inscribed, and with two seals of the artist; 35.5 by 287 cm. 14 by 113 in. Est. 3,000,000—5,000,000 HKD. Lot Sold 16,340,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's

Pan Tianshu '1897 - 1971), "Hen On The Rock", ink and colour on paper, hanging scroll, signed DAYI SHOU, dated bing shen, 1956, titled, with a dedication, and three seals of the artist; 148.7 by 41.1 cm. 58 1/2 by 16 1/8 in. Est. 5,000,000—7,000,000 HKD. Lot Sold 17,460,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's

Qi Baishi (1864-1957), "Tiger", ink and colour on paper, framed, signed HUANG, dated geng yin, 1950, the eleventh lunar month, with a dedication, and three seals of the artist; 69.3 by 138 cm. 27 1/4 by 54 3/8 in. Estimate Upon Request. Lot Sold 32,020,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's

EXHIBITED: Exhibition of Important Chinese Paintings from the Robert Chang Collection, June to December 2002, touring exhibition in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Taipei

LITERATURE AND REFERENCES: Important Chinese Paintings from the Robert Chang Collection ─ Works by Qi Baishi, Sotheby's Hong Kong Limited, June 2002, p.181