CHINA GUARDIAN DEBUTS IN HONG KONG
Inaugural Auctions to be held on 7 October 2012
 
Hong Kong, 5 September 2012 – China Guardian Auctions Co, Ltd., the oldest auction house  in Mainland China, specialising in Chinese artwork of all varieties, will makes its official debut in Hong Kong on 7 October 2012. The inaugural auctions at the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong will feature over 300 Chinese ink paintings and calligraphy and more than 40 pieces of classical Chinese furniture from the Ming and Qing dynasties. (Sale preview: 4-6 October)
 
Established in 1993, China Guardian is a world-class auction house and a leader in its field. Ranked in the top four art auction houses world-wide and generating 7.8% of the world’s art auction revenue, its sales totalled 11.2 billion RMB in 2011 (1.77 billion USD). The auction house achieved the highest priced work on the auction market last year with the sale of Chinese modern master painter Qi Baishi’s Eagle Standing on Pine, 1946, for 425.5 million RMB (57.2 million USD), a record price for Chinese oil painting with the sale of Chen Yifei’s Wind of Mountain Village, 1994 for 81.65 million RMB (12.87 million USD) and 144 lots selling at over 10 million RMB each. With offices in New York, Vancouver, Tokyo, Shanghai, Tianjin, Taipei and Hong Kong, China Guardian is looking to expand to other markets worldwide. The inaugural auction in Hong Kong represents China Guardian’s first auction outside Mainland China.
 
Yannan Wang, director and president of China Guardian said: “The inaugural Hong Kong auction marks the crucial step in our international business expansion plan and a major development for the Chinese art market. Launching with a focused sale of exquisite artworks, China Guardian is committed to the Hong Kong auction market in the long-term. We plan to hold Spring and Autumn auctions in Hong Kong every year. We look forward to introducing a huge variety of Chinese artworks to international audiences here.”
 
The inaugural auction in Hong Kong will feature two sessions “Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy from the Four Seas” and “Classic Furniture and Garden Ornaments of Ming and Qing Dynasties”. Highlight lots include an exceptional selection of ink paintings by leading modern masters of Chinese painting Qi Baishi, Li Keran and Xu Beihong, amongst others. Prices of works by Qi Baishi, ranked second in the world in by auction revenue, overtaking Andy Warhol and Pablo Picasso, have increased remarkably in recent years, 35% in 2011, after an increase of 400% between 2009 and 2010. The work presented in the forthcoming Hong Kong sale is an exquisite landscape series Album of Mountains and Rivers, 1922 in coloured ink.
 
Xu Beihong holds fifth place in the global ranking and is the third highest-grossing Chinese artist on the market. His work is comparatively rare to feature on the market with only 316 lots sold last year. The highlight lot from the artist in the sale in Hong Kong The Eagle and the Pine Tree, 1936, is regarded to be one of his masterpieces and a was the Chairman of Hunan province, He Jian.
 
Li Keran is also ranked in the top 10 of artists and sixth highest grossing Chinese artist last year. A highlight work for the sale is The Sun after the Rain, 1965, a highly coloured masterpiece inspired by a poem by Chairman Mao Zedong.
 
The furniture session will present more than 40 special lots, including rare Ming-style Huanghuali pieces and Zitan imperial objects of the Qing Dynasty.
 
China Guardian Inaugural Hong Kong Auction Previews:
4 October 2012, 1200 – 2100
5 October 2012, 1000 – 2100
6 October 2012, 1200 – 1800
1/F (the Connaught Room) & 2/F (Statue Square, Alexandra, Victoria)
Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, 5 Connaught Road, Central, Hong Kong
 
China Guardian Inaugural Hong Kong Auction:
“Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy from the Four Seas”
7 October 2012, 1300 – 2000
“Classic Furniture and Garden Ornaments of Ming and Qing Dynasties”
7 October 2012, 2000 - 2100
1/F, Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, 5 Connaught Road, Central, Hong Kong
 
For media inquiries, please contact:
GCCS
Eunice Kim
ekim@artinfo.com
001 646 753 9061