Growing, growing and far from gone
The rise and rise of Hong Kong's stature as a key player in the international auction scene, all through the most challenging months of the pandemic, augurs well for the city's future as a pre-eminent, world-class arts hub. Joyce Yip reports.
Luxury in demand
The sale of luxury items is booming as well. Burmese rubies, Colombian emeralds, Hermes bags, and Patek Philippe and Rolex timepieces as well as signed items by Cartier and Bulgari are getting snapped up quickly, often by Chinese buyers.
Sotheby's Hong Kong's autumn auctions, hosted together with K11 Musea, will see a collaboration with auteur director Wong Kar-wai. The iconic yellow leather jacket worn by Hong Kong heartthrob Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing in Wong's Happy Together is up for grabs, among other collectibles from the Jet Tone Films archive.
In August, Bonhams Hong Kong set a world record with the sale of a 1991 Macallan cask for HK$4,464,000 ($573,600). A hat and other memorabilia used by Napoleon Bonaparte were flown in for a showing in the Bonhams office before travelling to Paris and New York City.
