Sotheby's Sale of Modern & Contemporary Southeast Asian Paintings Brings US$9,165,947

Monday, 06 October 2008 22:55

HONG KONG - Sotheby’s sale of Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Paintings, held on its third day of sales in its autumn 2008 series at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, brought HK$71,625,748 (US$9,165,947), far exceeding its high estimate (est. HK$35.1-48.5 million / US$4.5-6.2 million). The sale, which included works by prominent artists from countries including Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia, again set a new record for a Contemporary Southeast Asian work of art at auction when Indonesian artist I Nyoman Masriadi’s The Man From Bantul (The Final Round), 2000, an impressive triptych conveying the resolve of the human spirit, sold for HK$7,820,000 (US$1,000,725) after lively bidding, five times its high estimate (lot 838, est. HK$1-1.5 million).

The previous record was just set in Sotheby’s Evening Sale of Contemporary Asian Art on October 4th, when Sotheby’s also set artist records for numerous other Indonesian artists, including Affandi, Agus Suwage and Handiwirman Saputra. Additional artist records were set in today’s sale for works by Rudi Mantofani, Dipo Andy and Jumaldi Alfi, among others. The majority of the works in today’s sale fetched many times their pre-sale estimates.

Mr. Mok Kim Chuan, Sotheby’s Head of Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Paintings, commented, “We are thrilled with the results of today’s sale, which showed the growing interest and great appeal of Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Art. Prices achieved new levels for the category, and the record that we set earlier this week for a Contemporary Southeast Asian work of art was subsequently broken in today’s sale by a substantial amount, showing a vibrant market. New buyers crossing over from other collecting categories had a significant presence in today’s sale, and notably at the top end. This follows our spectacular sales total achieved last season, further validating our decision to hold sales in this category in Hong Kong after relocating from Singapore earlier this year.”