Poly Auction
Suites 701-708, 7/F, One Pacific Place 88 Queensway, Admiralty,, Hong Kong
852-2303-9899
About Auction House
Poly Auction (Hong Kong) Limited (Poly Auction Hong Kong), established in 2012 by Poly Culture Group Corp. Ltd., is a young but remarkable auction house in Hong Kong and the Asia Pacific region. Beijing Poly International Auction, a subsidiary of Poly Culture Group Corp Ltd., is China’s largest state-owned auction house and holds the highest auction transaction volume of Chinese art in the world.Auction Previews & News
4 Results
Auction ResultAround the Auction World: August 2022
What’s new from around the auction world this August? A Mickey Mantle trading card sold with Heritage Auctions for a staggering USD 12.6 million this month, setting a new record for the most expensive piece of sports memorabilia of all time. Overall, auction houses settled into the dog days of summer before gearing up for the fall selling season. Despite a slowdown, there was no shortage of auction world news this month. Check out other top headlines from around the auction world this August, including a sale of tiny marbles and results from Monterey Car Week 2022. Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled, 1981. Image courtesy of Poly Auction Hong Kong. Auction Highlights Notable sales emerged from around the auction world to end the summer season. In Hong Kong, Poly Auction celebrated its 10th anniversary with the high-profile sale of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Untitled from 1981. It achieved $13.4 million and boosted a five-day sales week total of $127 million. Saffronart of Mumbai, India notably presented the second edition of The Art of India Auction in time for India’s 75th Independence Day. Among the top lots was H. A. Gade’s Monsoon Greys ($37,080). Elsewhere, Crescent City Auction Gallery presented a wide range of vintage French furniture lots during its Summer Decorative Arts and Interiors Auction. Key lots included sideboards, hall stands, and commodes in the French Louis XVI style. Fans of collectible tobacciana also enjoyed a robust selection of items in Lion and Unicorn’s August 23, 2022 sale. Enthusiasts browsed relics and collectibles associated with pubs and smoking, including decorative ashtrays and elaborate match stands from the likes of Royal Doulton. Detail of a Haji Jalili Persian Tabriz rug. Image courtesy of Nazmiyal Auctions. Key Artists This August, Auction Daily particularly featured the work of Tabriz carpet weaver Haji Jalili. A leader of the Tabriz rug revival movement in the late 19th century, Haji Jalili enjoyed the patronage of the royal court and used his workshop’s influence to create woven masterpieces. The artisan was highly educated and held traditional Sufi philosophy in exceptionally high regard. Haji Jalili’s rugs are known for their delicate use…
Auction ResultBasquiat’s Bold Masterpiece Leads Poly Auction Hong Kong’s Decennial Celebration
Warm Spring in the Mountain Village by Wu Guanzhong sold for HKD 28.2 million (USD 3.5 million). Image courtesy of Poly Auction Hong Kong. Hong Kong-based seller Poly Auction started its journey in 2012. Within ten years, it has secured a leading position in an industry reigned by centuries-old auction houses. To celebrate its 10th anniversary, Poly Auction Hong Kong held a five-day auction event. The auction attained an impressive sale total of more than HKD 1 billion (USD 127 million). The sale included high-profile lots across six departments– Modern and contemporary art, jewels and watches, Chinese ceramics and art, fine Chinese paintings and calligraphy, rare Chinese wine, whisky and tea, and Hermès handbags and hype collectibles. Among all the categories, Modern and contemporary art garnered the most attention. The sales totaled HKD 410 million (USD 52.2 million). Jean-Michel Basquiat’s 1981 Untitled was the most expensive lot sold in the auction. Image courtesy of Poly Auction Hong Kong. A 1981 Masterpiece by Jean-Michel Basquiat Jean-Michel Basquiat never attended art school. Yet the artist’s 1981 Untitled painting was the most expensive lot sold in Poly Auction’s recent Modern and Contemporary Art Auction. It sold for HKD 105 million (USD 13.4 million). Basquiat is a well-known name among art collectors around the globe. Born in Brooklyn in 1960 to a Haitian father and a Puerto Rican mother, Basquiat was a gifted child who showed an interest in art and pranks from an early age. His mother took the artist to museums and enrolled him in art classes. By 11, he had already written a children’s book, was fluent in French, Spanish and English, and pranked his siblings several times. As a teenager, he chose graffiti as a medium to express his artistic and poetic self, under the pseudonym SAMO. In the 1980s, graffiti artists were arrested on sight, if caught. Pretty soon, everyone took notice of Basquiat’s artworks and his portrayal of historically prominent Black figures. Basquiat collaborated with Andy Warhol, dated Madonna, and became the youngest artist to be given an exhibition at Kestner-Gesellschaft in Hanover, Germany before passing away at 27. Fragmented pieces and…
Auction Result2021 Auction Results From Across the Industry
As the first month of 2022 draws to a close, the art market remains a dynamic landscape. The Omicron coronavirus variant has rekindled fears of large gatherings and events, leading to a string of art fair cancelations. Auction houses have supplemented their income with extensive online programming, sometimes to great success. Companies across the art industry have released their yearly auction results from 2021 over the last few weeks. As many expected, 2021’s revenues were not quite as dire as those in 2020. However, pandemic troubles did not affect every company equally. How did the auction industry fare in 2021, and what do last year’s auction results mean for 2022? Auction Daily investigates. Christie’s 20th/21st Century: Evening Sale in London. Image courtesy of Christie’s. The top auction houses, Christie’s and Sotheby’s, both set new records in 2021. Sotheby’s brought in a staggering USD 7.3 billion in sales. Christie’s was not far behind; it made $7.1 billion. Blue-chip works particularly increased these figures. Both auction houses also reached aggressively into the metaverse and accommodated the tastes of increasingly younger buyers. Though these two giants continue to lead the industry in revenues, other houses advanced significantly in 2021. Heritage Auctions of Dallas, Texas surpassed $1.4 billion in sales. This was the first time in company history when the yearly total crossed the billion-dollar threshold. Heritage dominated the collectibles market (despite news-making tensions between video game collectors in September). Phillips netted $1.2 billion in sales during 2021, a new in-house record. The company is also making moves to expand its reach in 2022. It has a growing presence in Hong Kong, and Phillips is becoming a destination for collectors of ultra-contemporary art. Bonhams has not released its 2021 auction results but recently announced the acquisition of renowned Stockholm-based auction house Bukowskis. British private equity firm Epiris acquired Bonhams in 2018. Since then, the house has significantly expanded its footprint in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, and the United States. Poly Auction auctioneer Jenny Lok sells Yoshitomo Nara’s Berlin Barack, Room 1 (2007). Image courtesy of Poly Auction. Mid-level auction houses also saw strong results…
Auction ResultState of the Market: Key Trends in 2021’s Fourth Quarter
Another year of art sales is finished. For many, 2021 brought an imperfect mix of anticipation and fear as the art world regained a sense of normalcy. Art fairs continued to offer a mixed approach to in-person events during 2021’s fourth quarter. In the auction sector, sellers organized some of the most significant events of the year all while scrambling to accommodate rapidly changing consumer tastes. Auction Daily checks in on the state of the market as 2021 draws to a close. Sotheby’s New York headquarters. Image courtesy of Sotheby’s. Auction Houses Announce Yearly Totals Preliminary auction results from the market’s key players are starting to trickle in. Sotheby’s brought in a record USD 7.3 billion in sales this year. This figure outpaces totals from 2020 and even pre-pandemic levels. Modern and contemporary art boosted the results, as well as luxury goods. Major consignments such as the Macklowe Collection catered to high-spending collectors. Many had money to invest after the market experienced a dry spell of rare works by major blue-chip artists. Shortly after Sotheby’s announced its yearly results, owner Patrick Drahi indicated that he may bring the company public again. Christie’s ranked second in total auction sales when it announced its results in 2021’s fourth quarter. It made $7.1 billion. Much like Sotheby’s, the auction house made more this year than it did before the pandemic. Single-owner collections from Edwin Cox and others helped buoy the total. For its part, Phillips reported $1.2 billion in sales during 2021. This is a new high for the British house. While these results reflect the top of the market, mid-level auction houses also experienced a relatively strong year. After 2020 caught the market by surprise, 2021 gave companies a chance to test new technologies, categories, and stunts. Online auctions continued to dominate despite a cautious return to in-person events. However, the new Omicron coronavirus variant added a note of bitterness and uncertainty as the new year approached. A fully revitalized art market continues to be a moving target. Christie’s auctioneer Elaine Kwok with a major Yayoi Kusama painting in Hong Kong. Image…
Auction ResultAround the Auction World: June 2021
Photos from around the auction world in June 2021. Image credit from left to right: Phillips/ Poly Auction, Artsy, and Sotheby’s. Collage by Heemin Moon (Auction Daily). Marking the halfway point of the year, June 2021 reaffirmed many of the industry trends that emerged in previous months. A pair of auctions in Hong Kong and Beijing, for example, emphasized how strong bidding is across Asia right now. Meanwhile, Sotheby's Natively Digital sale proved there is still a healthy demand for NFTs. As more companies and organizations celebrate Pride Month, June 2021 was also an opportunity for auction houses to champion artists in the LGBTQ+ community. Plus, with Independence Day around the corner, many in the industry offered American ephemera and other pieces of Americana. From baseball cards to CryptoPunks, here are the major headlines from around the auction world in June 2021. Industry Trends June was another big month for NFTs, despite concerns about their long-term viability. Sotheby's Natively Digital sale offered a wide range of lots, including a CryptoPunk and the first NFT ever minted. When the bidding ended, the auction achieved USD 17.1 million and a perfect 100% sell-through rate. The auction house followed that up later in June by offering an NFT of the World Wide Web’s original source code. In their latest collaboration, Phillips and Poly Auction also achieved white-glove sales. They hosted two days of auctions that ran concurrently in Hong Kong and Beijing. Highlighted artists included Yoshitomo Nara and Yayoi Kusama. The $90.4 million total was the latest proof that auction houses can depend on enthusiastic bidders throughout Asia. FEWOCiOUS, still from Year 5, Age 18 – I Taught Myself How To Fly, 2021. Image from Christie’s. June was an opportunity for the auction industry to celebrate both established and emerging voices in the LGBTQ+ community. Christie's sale of NFTs by 18-year-old FEWOCiOUS and Artnet's Queer Legacy auction were among the highlights during Pride Month 2021. In the lead-up to Independence Day in the United States, several auctions looked back on the nation's history, including a sale of American historical ephemera from Cowan's Auctions.…
Art FairsArt Fairs, Comic Books, & Cryptocurrency Dominate 2021’s Second Quarter
Halfway through 2021, the art market shows signs of revival. Increased vaccination rates have allowed in-person events to resume, and the auction industry has started to recover its losses. 2021’s second quarter also revealed enduring and new trends in the art world, from comic books to cryptocurrency. Auction Daily investigates the state of the market in June of 2021. Visitors at Kamel Mennour’s booth at Art Basel Hong Kong. Image from Art Basel. Second Quarter Art Market Trends Major auction houses pushed ahead with modern and contemporary art sales in 2021’s second quarter. These were often spread across multiple days and locations, offering bidders a dizzying international experience. The sales yielded particularly strong results for young and emerging artists. Vintage comic books have seen significant growth over the last few months. This typically stable collecting category skyrocketed in popularity during the pandemic. Heritage Auctions recently netted USD 22.4 million in its June comics auction, nearly $6 million above its previous record. Certain pre-pandemic factors were already pushing the category forward, including better grading and certification systems. Staying at home gave both serious and casual bidders the time to build their collections. Phone bidders at Christie’s Hong Kong. Image from Reuters/Alamy Stock Photo. Market Recovery and Expansion In 2021’s second quarter, auction houses across the industry moved to recover financial losses incurred during the pandemic. The largest auction houses took steps into fresh markets, seeking new clients and opportunities. Phillips and Poly Auction first joined hands in late 2020. Several months later, in early June of 2021, the companies offered a dual-location contemporary art event over two days. The white-glove auctions yielded $90.4 million and set new auction records for many rising artists. These results support Phillips’ long-term expansion into Asian markets, especially in Hong Kong and mainland China. Sotheby’s also announced plans for international development. The company will offer auctions in a Cologne villa starting in September, chasing a rapidly growing German market. The upcoming events will offer luxury items and fine art to northern European collectors. Sotheby’s will encounter competition from domestic auction houses with an established presence. However,…
Artists, Auction IndustryArtist to Know: Jadé Fadojutimi
Sotheby’s to Offer Abstract Piece by Rising London Painter Jadé Fadojutimi creates most of her color- and light-rich artworks at night. She describes herself as “not very good at sleeping,” a reality that leads to exuberant paintings made in the fading light of evening. This environment plays a key role in her work. Fadojutimi creates colorful abstract paintings that explore both her space and her identity. After obtaining her graduate degree in 2017, Fadojutimi experienced a near-meteoric rise in the art world. She became the youngest artist with work in the Tate collection and is now gaining ground in the art market. “Jadé is an exciting new voice in painting,” Alex Gartenfeld, the Artistic Director of the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, told Galerie. “Her canvases present a truly fresh approach to abstraction and figuration and are rich with personal and pop cultural references.” One of Jadé Fadojutimi’s 2019 paintings will soon come to auction with Sotheby’s. The piece, titled I’m pirouetting the night away, is the first lot of the upcoming Modern & Contemporary Art Evening Sale. Bidding starts at 3:00 PM BST (10:00 AM EDT) on June 29th, 2021. Learn more about the artist before the sale begins. Jadé Fadojutimi with her painting. Image courtesy of the artist and Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London. While Jadé Fadojutimi did not grow up around the arts, she knew that painting would be her path forward. She spent her childhood years absorbing music and media before enrolling in the Slade School of Art. Fadojutimi’s experiences there and at the Royal College of Art helped her develop confidence as a young artist. She later took a residency in Kyoto, Japan. The trip proved to be transformative. Despite her comfort with the language and culture, Fadojutimi felt out of place and artistically frustrated. She spent three angry days drawing her feelings in a locked room, and she unlocked her distinct visual language as a result. Fadojutimi’s paintings use figurative elements at times, particularly when the artist aims to evoke a shape or idea. She often includes symbolism that is personally significant but mysterious to…
Auction ResultAuction Review: Phillips and Poly Auction’s Dual-Location Contemporary Art Sales
This June, Phillips and Poly Auction continued their collaborative efforts with two days of contemporary art auctions. Held on June 7th and 8th, 2021, the events took place in both Hong Kong and Beijing. The auction houses achieved two ‘white glove’ sales with a 100% sell-through rate and netted a total of HKD 702 million (USD 90.4 million). “The brand new format of these dual-location sales… confirm[s] the strength of Asian buyers in building global demand for the modern and contemporary art category,” said Jonathan Crockett, Phillips’ Asia Chairman, in a statement. “This season’s sales were one of our most diverse and we were pleased to achieve another season of impressive results with our offering of exceptional 20th and 21st century works of art.” Left: Phillips auctioneer Jonathan Crockett sells Yoshitomo Nara’s Missing in Action in the Hong Kong auction room. Right: Poly Auction’s Beijing auction room. Images from Phillips and Poly Auction. Phillips and Poly Auction first joined forces in November of 2020. Each company looked to expand its presence in foreign markets and increase brand visibility. Following the success of their inaugural joint sale in November, which brought in HKD 508 million (USD 66 million), the auction houses announced plans for a dual-location contemporary art event in the spring of 2021. Phillips auctioneers ran the sales from the company’s Hong Kong location, and collectors could also join through Poly Auction’s live feed in Beijing. More than 800 bidders from 45 countries participated, doubling the previous auction season’s rates. Yoshitomo Nara’s Missing in Action from 2000 was the leading lot. It sold for HKD 134.8 million (USD 15.9 million). This marks the artist’s second-highest price at auction. This collaboration also marked a step forward for cryptocurrency in the art market. In May, Phillips announced its plans to accept Bitcoin or Ether as payment for a non-digital work of art (Banksy’s Laugh Now Panel A, 2002). This decision set a precedent for major auction houses in Asia. Banksy’s signature spray paint piece sold for HKD 24.5 million (USD 3.2 million), though the buyer’s payment method has not yet been disclosed.…
