Prominent Chinese billionaire Liu Yiqian sold only 29 of 39 artworks in a Hong Kong auction with results far behind estimated values, a sign of a softening in the Chinese art market.
Sotheby’s conducted the much-hyped sale of modern and contemporary works from prominent Western and Asian artists over approximately two hours at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center on Thursday. The grand total, including the buyer’s premium and overhead premium was HK$544.5 million ($69.5 million); initial estimates pegged auction totals between HK$745 million and HK$1.06 billion.
