Wang Hui’s Album of Landscapes sold for HK$35,960,000 including premium (over three times its high estimate). Photo: Bonhams.

HONG KONG.- The top-selling lot at the Fine Chinese Paintings sale at Bonhams Hong Kong on Sunday was an important work by Wang Hui (1632–1717), one of the most celebrated painters of late seventeenth-century China, which realized HK$ 35,960,000. It had been estimated at HK$7,000,000 - 10,000,000. 

After a lengthy bidding war, the album of ten double leaves finally went to a telephone bidder who was shortly afterwards identified as Mr. Liu Yiqian, a respected Shanghai-based art collector and founder of Long Museum. 

Part of the collection of Mark S. Pratt, the painting is dated to the spring of 1698, five years after Wang Hui would finish the twelve scrolls of the ‘Nanxun Tu,’ placing this album squarely within this most developed period of his art. 

Other works of art from Mark S. Pratt’s collection include Za Daqian’s Lotus and Dwelling in the Mountains which made HK$2,200,000 and HK$1,960,000 respectively, well above their high estimates. 

Zhang Daqian (1899-1983), Lotus. Ink and colour on paper, hanging scroll. Inscribed and signed Daqian Zhang Yuan, with five seals of the artist. Dated renxu year (1982), 90cm x 45.5cm (35½in x 17¾in). Sold for HK$ 2,200,000 (€257,192). Photo: Bonhams.

Zhang Daqian (1899-1983), Dwelling in the Mountains. Ink on paper, hanging scroll. Inscribed and signed Yuan, with two seals of the artist and one seal of the collector. Colophon inscribed by Pu Ru (1896-1963) with one seal. Dated yiyou year (1945), 79cm x 45cm (31in x 17¾in). Sold for HK$ 1,960,000 (€229,135). Photo: Bonhams.

Other notable highlights from the auction include: 

Qi Baishi (1864-1957), Mouse and Candlestick. Ink and colour on paper, hanging scroll. Inscribed and signed Baishi, with two seals of the artist. Dated wuzi year (1948), 104.5cm x 34.5cm (41in x 13½in). Sold for HK$ 3,760,000 (€439,565). Photo: Bonhams.

Attributed to Qiu Ying (ca.1482-1559), Hunting in Spring. Ink and colour on silk, hanging scroll. Bearing the signature Qiu Ying Shifu with two seals, 135cm x 62cm (53in x 24½in). Sold for HK$ 2,500,000 (€292,264). Photo: Bonhams.

Lu Yanshao (1909-1993), Spring Landscape at Dawn. Ink and colour on paper, hanging scroll. Inscribed and signed Lu Yanshao, with four seals of the artist. Dated 1980, 95cm x 58cm (37½in x 22¾in). Sold for HK$ 1,240,000 (€144,963). Photo: Bonhams.

Lu Yanshao (1909-1993), Mount Qingcheng in the Mist. Ink and colour on paper, hanging scroll. Inscribed and signed Lu Yanshao, with five seals of the artist. Dated 1980, 96cm x 44cm (37¾in x 17¼in). Sold for HK$ 1,120,000 (€130,934). Photo: Bonhams.

Li Xiongcai (1910-2002), Two Eagles Amidst Pine Trees. Ink and colour on paper, mounted. Inscribed and signed Xiongcai, with two seals of the artist. Dated jiazi year (1984), 67.5cm x 136.5cm (26½in x 53¾in). Sold for HK$ 812,500 (€94,985). Photo: Bonhams.

Li Xiongcai (1910-2002), Two Pheasants Sitting on the Pine Tree. Ink and colour on paper, mounted. Inscribed and signed Xiongcai, with three seals of the artist. Dated wuchen year (1988), 43.5cm x 99cm (17in x 39in). Sold for HK$ 487,500 (€56,991). Photo: Bonhams.

In addition, five Cheng Shifa’s paintings from the collection of Mrs. Sally Yu Leung, which all sold well above their estimates, fetched HK$1.8 million in total to benefit the University of California Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive as Bonhams joined forces with them to raise funds to name the Asian Art Study Center in the new museum in honour of The late Professor James Cahill (1926-2014), who had taught Chinese art history at the University of California, Berkeley for twenty-nine years. 

Steven Zuo, Director of Chinese Paintings, Bonhams Hong Kong, said, "We are very pleased with the results of today's auction. Today's auction has demonstrated the strength of the demand for top-quality work. Going forward, we will continue to leverage our unrivalled global network to source exceptional works from important private collections in America, Europe and Asia. We look forward to our next sale in November.” 

*Estimates do not include buyer's premium and prices achvied include the hammer price plus buyer's premium