蘇富比何鴻卿爵士私人珍藏十大成交｜TOP 10 FROM SIR JOSEPH HOTUNG’S PERSONAL COLLECTION IN SOTHEBY’S

已故何鴻卿爵士（1930-2021年）憑著卓越的玉器收藏及慈善貢獻，在藝術界德高望重。然而何爵士對設計和品質方面精益求精的眼光並非人所共知，他在日常起居的倫敦大宅中建立的一系列私人收藏富饒而精緻，然有幸一睹風采之士寥寥可數。2022年秋季，蘇富比於一系列在倫敦及香港舉行的拍賣，陸續呈獻四百餘件何鴻卿爵士私人典藏。

The late Sir Joseph Hotung (1930-2021) was respected and revered in the art world for his Jade collection and for his philanthropy. What was much less known however was his discriminating eye for quality and design. His personal collection was beautifully displayed in his London residence yet seen only by a privileged few. In Autumn 2022, Sotheby’s offered over 400 works from Sir Joseph’s personal collection in a series of auctions in London and Hong Kong.

經過四場現場拍賣及一場網上拍賣，475件拍品以總數1.033億歐元 / 9.316億港元 / 1.192億美元成交，超越其拍賣前估價的一倍。綜合多場拍賣，93%的拍品成功找到新主人，其中70%成交超越其估價，多達22項拍品打破100萬歐元紀錄。此系列拍賣吸引了來自44個國家的越過1,000名買家參與競投。

Over the course of four live sales and an online sale, 475 lots sold to bring a total of £103.3m / HK$931.6m / US$119.2m (est. £40.5-59.7m) – more than doubling pre-sale expectations. Across the auctions, 93% of the lots offered found new homes, with 70% selling for sums in excess of their high-estimates and 22 lots breaking the £1 million mark. The series saw over 1,000 participants hail from 44 countries.

何爵士的收藏玉器的熱忱始於上世紀70年代末，當時一次航班延誤造就的契機，使他從一家三藩市藝廊購入一對成對的清代白盌，從此叩響收藏大門，開啓了一生的對藝術的熱情。此後何鴻卿爵士開始建立龐大的收藏，搜集來自不同時期和地域的藝術品，並將其珍藏和諧地佈置在他親自設計的倫敦雅宅中。中國與英國家具的樸韻柔澤與古典大師及印象派畫作的鮮色艷彩互相輝映，並與精巧的中國藝術品及瓷器搭配相宜，每件皆為絕世稀珍。

Sir Joseph’s passion for collecting jade was sparked in the early 1970s when a chance encounter – due to a delayed flight – led him to acquire a pair of perfectly matched Qing-dynasty white bowls from a gallery in San Francisco. This first purchase was the start of a lifelong passion, as Sir Joseph took to assembling artworks from different periods and places. His extensive collection was displayed harmoniously in the elegant London home he personally curated and designed. The glowing patinas of Chinese and English furniture perfectly counterbalancing the vibrant colouring of the Old Master and Impressionist paintings, set against exquisite works of art and porcelain from China, every piece rare and of the highest quality.

何鴻卿爵士對藝術熱誠慷慨，文化機構因此受益尤多。其中，大英博物館的亞洲藝術主展廳以何爵士命名，展廳在1992年和2017年兩度獲得英女王讚賞。此外，他還在紐約大都會藝術博物館和紐約亞洲協會擔任信託人及委員，同類職銜不勝枚舉。何爵士慷慨無私，幾乎將其所有的非凡中國早期青花瓷及玉器收藏遺贈予大英博物館以便更妥善保護——這是大英博物館近年最重要的捐贈之一。

Hotung’s keen philanthropy in the arts was particularly felt by cultural institutions, with the major gallery of Asian Art in the British Museum named for him – opened to great acclaim by Her Majesty The Queen in 1992 and again in 2017 – and additional trustee positions at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Asia Society, New York, to name a few. Testament to his generosity, Hotung bequeathed almost the entirety of his outstanding collections of early Chinese blue-and-white porcelains and of Jades to the British Museum, where they will be displayed together – in what marks one of the most significant bequests in the British Museum’s recent history.

10 Top Lots

London:

Lot 13 Edgar Degas’ portrait of Eugène Manet, sold for £6.3m (est. £4-6m). Painted in 1874 and epitomising the artist’s distinctive approach to portraiture, the work is one of the hidden gems of Degas’ art.

Lot 7 Gentlemen in Black by Édouard Vuillard, an enigmatic and sophisticated painting that had remained unseen since 1983, made its auction debut at £4m (est. £1.5-2m). A further six paintings by the Parisian painter were sold, representing the finest offering to be presented at auction from a single collection for decades.
Lot 2 明末 黃花梨獨板馬蹄足翹頭案, An exceptional huanghuali altar table (Qiaotouan), Late Ming dynasty, sold for £1.6m (est. £200,000-300,000)

Lot 212 銀嵌寳九龍戲珠紋璽, A turquoise and coral-inlaid silver ‘Nine Dragons’ seal, soared to over £1m (est. £10,000-15,000).

清光緒 御製「平定西域圖」 設色絹本 鏡框, An Imperial battle painting, an impressive example from a set of seventeen paintings depicting commemorative scenes between the Qing Imperial Army and rebel forces, brought £630,000 (est. £60,000-80,000).

Hong Kong:

Lot 11 明末 黃花梨圓後背交椅, A very rare and outstanding huanghuali folding horseshoe-back armchair, jiaoyi, Late Ming dynasty, sold for HK$124.6m / £14.2m (est. HK$10-15m), following 15 minutes of heated bidding, with 60 bids placed – auction record for a Chinese chair, and third highest price for any chair at auction.

Lot 9 齊白石 繁花碩果, Flowers and Fruits by Qi Baishi, sold for HK$78.7m / £9m (est. HK$18-30m) – the largest known multi-panel work by the artist, spanning more than nine feet in height.

Lot 10 十一至十二世紀 大理國鎏金銅阿嵯耶觀世音菩薩半跏像, A highly important gilt-bronze seated figure of Avalokiteshvara, Dali Kingdom, 11th – 12th century, made HK$48.8m / £5.6m (est. HK$15-20m.)

Lot 6 元 青花魚藻紋大罐, An important and exceptionally painted blue and white ‘fish’ jar, guan, Yuan dynasty, sold for HK$39.7m / £4.5m (est. HK$20-25m).

Lot 17 東周末至西漢公元前三至二世紀 玉瑞獸珮飾, A jade animal-shaped plaque, Late Eastern Zhou – Western Han dynasty, 3rd – 2nd century BC, sold for HK$16.1m / £1.8m (est. HK$800,000-1.2m).

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HOTUNG | 何東
The Personal Collection of the late Sir Joseph Hotung
8 OCTOBER – 8 DECEMBER
SOTHEBY’S HONG KONG & LONDON

Source: Sotheby’s

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