Six lots above HKD 10 million lead the season, while all four major collecting categories show solid momentum; collectors from more than 17 countries take part

HONG KONG, April 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Poly Auction Hong Kong Spring Auctions 2026 concluded with total sales of more than HKD 255 million, marking a 23% rise from the 2025 Autumn Auctions. The season saw six lots sell for over HKD 10 million, including two above HKD 20 million, alongside nine lots above HKD 5 million and 43 above HKD 1 million. Collectors from more than 17 countries joined the bidding.

This season featured six sales spanning Modern and Contemporary Art, Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy, and Jewels and Watches, with strong results across all categories. Modern and Contemporary Art rose 63.6% over last autumn, led by LIU WEI's You Like Pork?, which sold for HKD 27.6 million to become the top lot of the season. In Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, The Blue and White 'Grapes' Foliate-Rim Dish, Ming Dynasty, Yongle Period realised HKD 24.6 million to lead Peak of Grandeur: A Fine Selection of Important Imperial Treasures, while the Large Black-and-Brown-Glazed Sancai Pottery Horse and Yellow-Glazed Groom of the Tang Dynasty from The Tsui Museum of Art Collection brought HKD 10.8 million in the Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art sale. The Jewels, Watches and Handbags Department climbed 77.6% over last autumn, led by the "Emerald Radiance" Jadeite Bead, Ruby and Diamond Necklace at HKD 14.4 million. In Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy, XU BEIHONG's Standing Horse — the only known work by the artist dedicated to Zhang Xueliang — drew strong attention and sold for HKD 4.8 million.

Market depth was equally evident throughout the sale series. A total of 119 lots sold above their high estimates, while 29 achieved more than five times their low estimates. One of the clearest examples came in the Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art sale, where A Yingqing Archaistic Bronze-form 'Phoenix' Two-handled Vase Song Dynasty, became an instant focal point. After 34 rounds of bidding, it sold for HKD 1,176,000, more than 8.16 times its low estimate.

Auction scene (Image courtesy of Poly Auction Hong Kong)

Modern and Contemporary Art

Modern and Contemporary Art realised more than HKD 76 million in total, up 63.6% from the previous autumn season, with major works by leading artists finding buyers across the board.

Leading the category was LIU WEI's You Like Pork?, which sold for HKD 27.6 million. Painted in 1995 and shown that same year in the themed exhibition of the Venice Biennale, the work is one of the defining paintings of the artist's 1990s practice. With only six works in the series and this being the only one currently available on the market, it stands as both a key art-historical marker and a highly rare market example. It also captures a crucial moment in the development of Chinese contemporary art, when grand historical narratives gave way to a more immediate engagement with bodily and lived reality.

ZAO WOU-KI's 15.07.67 sold for HKD 12 million. Painted in the mid-1960s, one of the most celebrated periods of his career, the work shows the artist at a mature point of balance between calligraphic energy and abstract spatial structure. By then, ZAO had fully absorbed the philosophy of negative space in Eastern ink painting into the visual tension of Western abstraction. With its luminous tonal range and deep sense of atmosphere, the painting is especially distinctive within works from the same period.

WU DAYU's Rhymes of Beijing Opera sold for HKD 11.16 million. Transforming the rhythm, light, and movement of the Beijing Opera stage into an abstract visual cadence, the work vividly expresses the artist's lifelong pursuit: "Colours flow, forms leap." Both formally and conceptually, it stands as a landmark achievement in the history of Chinese abstract art and a work of true museum calibre.

WU GUANZHONG's The Qianling Mountains sold for HKD 9.54 million. More than a landscape painting, the work brings together the spirit of Song dynasty landscape painting, the formal freedom of Shi Tao, and modern ideas traceable to Cezanne, making it a compelling example of the meeting point between Chinese and Western artistic languages.

Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art

The three Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art sales — The Way of Things: Treasures of Early Chinese Art, Peak of Grandeur: A Fine Selection of Important Imperial Treasures, and Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art — together realised more than HKD 110 million. The Blue and White 'Grapes' Foliate-Rim Dish, Ming Dynasty, Yongle Period, generated immediate competition and ultimately sold for HKD 24.6 million. Meanwhile, the Tsui Museum of Art Collection section achieved HKD 18.27 million with premium and a 74% sell-through rate, led by the Large Sancai-Glazed Pottery Group of a Caparisoned Horse and Groom of the Tang Dynasty at HKD 10.8 million.

The Blue and White 'Grapes' Foliate-Rim Dish, Ming Dynasty, Yongle Period, sold for HKD 24.6 million. A flagship lot of the season, it stands as an exemplary early Ming imperial blue-and-white dish. At 45 cm. in diameter, it combines monumental scale with remarkable formal precision. Painted in imported Sumaliqing cobalt, it displays rich, forceful blue tones, naturally dispersed iron spotting, and expansive grape scrolls with plump fruit, conveying the vitality of early Ming imperial kiln production. Its distinguished provenance — including Eskenazi and the Ten Face Lingbi Rock Retreat — and clear publication history add further historical and cultural weight.

The Large Sancai-Glazed Pottery Group of a Caparisoned Horse and Groom of the Tang Dynasty sold for HKD 10.8 million. As the leading lot of the Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art sale, it represents an exceptionally rare surviving Tang sancai equestrian group. The horse is powerfully modelled and richly ornamented, while the groom is animated and vividly observed. Preserved in outstanding condition, with bright glaze and strong sculptural presence, the ensemble speaks to the highest achievements of High Tang ceramic sculpture. Its rarity, provenance and condition combined to fuel sustained bidding in the room.

Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy

Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy also delivered several notable results. XU BEIHONG's Standing Horse sold for HKD 4.8 million. As the only known work inscribed and presented by the artist to Zhang Xueliang, it carries exceptional documentary and historical significance. Painted in late 1942, when Zhang was under confinement in Guizhou, the horse conveys both solitary poise and restrained momentum. The inscription, quoting Du Fu, deepens the work beyond the genre of horse painting and turns it into a rare testament to personal history, political atmosphere and artistic symbolism in modern China.

ZHANG DAQIAN's LOTUS IN THE WIND sold for HKD 4.68 million. The early 1960s marked an especially ambitious phase in the artist's career, during which he sought to establish himself on the international stage through monumental, technically demanding works. This painting, with its commanding scale and visual force, is one of the defining works from that period.

FAN ANREN's Lotus and Crab sold for HKD 1,824,000 after 27 rounds of bidding. FAN was a major realist painter of the mid-to-late Southern Song, known for highly refined depictions of aquatic life. This compact but powerful composition, showing only a drooping lotus leaf, a crab, and a few floating water plants, captures both the austere mood of autumn and the vitality of life. It stands as an excellent example of Southern Song meticulous realism.

Jewels, Watches and Handbags

The Jewels, Watches and Handbags Department totalled more than HKD 44 million, up 77.6% from last autumn, signalling renewed strength in the high-end jewellery market. The top lot, the Jadeite Bead, Ruby and Diamond Necklace, sold for HKD 14.4 million. A Colombian Emerald and Diamond Pendant Necklace realised HKD 768,000, while a Jadeite and Diamond Pendant Necklace sold for HKD 372,000, both well above their estimates.

The Jadeite Bead, Ruby and Diamond Necklace is composed of 38 natural jadeite beads, the largest measuring approximately 14.50 mm. The strand is notable for its generous proportions, strong consistency, rich colour and fine texture, while the ruby-and-diamond clasp introduces a crisp yet elegant visual counterpoint. In the jade market, natural jadeite bead necklaces have long been prized for the rarity of the material, the difficulty of matching the beads, and their enduring appeal as wearable art. Examples that combine large bead size, strong uniformity and excellent colour remain among the most sought-after categories.

High-resolution image links:

Google:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1h9MO8gSjdG8e5iqFEu0EJOeeuGax84A8

Baidu Netdisk：

https://pan.baidu.com/s/1pUHnauvF6As5OlW2GsVIEA?pwd=3c8j Extraction code:: 3c8j

About Poly Auction Hong Kong Co., Limited

Poly Auction Hong Kong Co., Ltd. (Poly Auction Hong Kong) was established in 2012 by Poly Culture Group Corporation Limited and is committed to becoming one of the most dynamic auction houses in the Asia-Pacific region.

Committed to a diverse range of auctions, Poly Auction Hong Kong operates through five major departments: Modern and Contemporary Art, Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy, Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Jewels, Watches and Handbags, and Rare Wine and Whisky. Each department boasts a team of professionals offering services such as consigned auctions, private sales, and complimentary valuation consultations, all designed to provide collectors with an exceptional experience.

Poly Auction Hong Kong hosts numerous exciting auctions annually, consistently achieving impressive results. Since its debut auction in 2012, Poly Auction Hong Kong has held auctions and continues to set new records across artists, artworks, and genres. In 2022, Poly Auction Hong Kong's 10th Anniversary Auction held its first Modern and Contemporary Art Evening Sale, successfully pulling off a white-glove sale, realising a grand sale of over HKD 410 million. The Autumn Auctions 2023 saw remarkable results in Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art auctions, with the "Meiyintang Collection" continuing its white-glove legend. In the Spring Auctions 2024, the Modern and Contemporary Art Sale achieved a robust sell-through rate of approximately 92% by lot, setting a new record. In recent years, Poly Auction Hong Kong has set numerous world auction records, including WU GUANZHONG's The Zhou Village, which established a new world auction record for the artist, and ZAO WOU-KI's Et la terre etait sans forme, which ranked third in the artist's world auction record and set a new auction record for works from his Oracle period. In the 2025 Autumn Auction, the Junyao Sky-Blue and Rose-Purple Glazed Narcissus Bowl with a Six-Character Mark of the Yuan to Early Ming Dynasty from the Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art category was the top lot of the season, fetching HKD 18.36 million; WU DAYU's Rhymes of Beijing Opera–52 from the Modern and Contemporary Art category sold for HKD 13.2 million, and XU WEI's Running Cursive Script Poem Manuscript from the Chinese Calligraphy and Painting category achieved HKD 8.16 million, all demonstrating the house's commitment to balancing academic value and market appeal. The Jewellery category also delivered an impressive performance, with a Natural Jadeite Cabochon and Diamond Ring selling for a notable HKD 3 million, bringing a splendid conclusion to the season's auctions.

Poly Auction Hong Kong is dedicated to promoting the global development of art, culture, and technology. Over the years, our initiatives have included actively curating exhibitions and facilitating exchanges with renowned artists. We also hosted special auctions for celebrity collectors and artists, as well as online and digital art auctions, in recent years.

Poly Gallery Hong Kong has consistently supported local arts and events in collaboration with Poly Auction Hong Kong. Together, we aim to discover museum-worthy collections, often associated with the Poly Art Museum in China, while continuously introducing new ideas and visions to the Asian art market and art collectors worldwide.

Since 2016, Poly Gallery Hong Kong has been dedicated to providing a comprehensive fine art connoisseur experience by actively hosting a variety of art exhibitions, private sales, cultural salons and crossover events. Poly Gallery Hong Kong collaborates closely with distinguished curators, artists, collectors, and industry specialists to explore the limitless possibilities of art.

To further promote the arts within the community, we have successfully hosted talks and guided tours with private-sector entities, family offices, private clubs, and more. These exhibitions have attracted thousands of visitors, averaging 2,000 per show, including celebrities from Greater China.

Source: Poly Auction Hong Kong Co., Ltd. (Poly Auction Hong Kong)