Colorful works of Walasse Ting, spectacular pieces like “Old Houses” and “Boats Beside Xiang River” by Pang Jiun, the unique, abstract works of Hsiao Chin (Xiao Qin) such as “Oltre la grande soglia – 79” and “Il giardino eterno — 59” were all up for sale and caused a bidding frenzy at the auction venue, via the internet, and by phone. Buyers were eager to make these wonderful treasures part of their collections and many pieces sold for more than twice to three times their original estimated prices. The atmosphere in the auction venue became even more heated with the entrance of works such as George Chann’s “Abstraction Series 537”, Chiu Ya-tsai’s “Girl with Short Hair” and “The Painter Wearing Red”, which all changed hands smoothly.
Next came the focus of the auction: Zao Wou-ki’s “Mars, 1952”, as seen on the cover of the auction catalogue and a rare large scale painting from Zao’s “Klee period”, sold for US$ 3,536,139, the highest price seen on the day. The other catalogue cover painting was another Zao Wou-ki work, “Ciel, terre et poussiere”, created during his “Oracle Bone Period”, and resulting in the second highest price of US$ 2,960,488. The artist’s 1976 work “21.01.76”, a piece reminiscent of Chinese ink painting, sold for US$ 1,449,406, the third most expensive item on the day. Chu Teh-chun’s “Composition No. 166”, a beautifully imagined piece, sold for US$ 1,156,441 and his “L'irreel” sold for US$ 1,040,797. These were the top five lots of the auction.
All three lots by artist Liu Kuo-sung, a founder of modern Chinese ink painting, were sold to enthusiastic buyers. Prospects for “Rhythm of the Moon (B)” were good leading up to the auction; the piece ended up selling for US$ 327,658, doubling its estimated price and becoming the sixth highest price paid for a work by this artist anywhere and the highest ever price for a work of his sold in Taiwan.
Ravenel’s Autumn Auction selected 11 of Sanyu’s works on paper as the part of our special exhibition, which then became the focus of the auction. Bidding cards went up one after another and every lot was sold, including the watercolor “Nude with Green Shoes”; the painting sold for US$ 100,225 after 25 bids, more than five times its original estimated price, making it into the top ten for auction prices worldwide for a Sanyu work on paper.
“Rose”, a 61 by 61 cm piece by contemporary Taiwan artist Tzu-chi Yeh, sold for more than four times its estimated price after 22 bids for US$ 104,080. The artists’ love and attachment to Tainan is plain in his work “Big Banyan Tree”, which many bidders were determined to take home, causing another bidding war with 19 bids and selling for US$ 462,576. This broke the artist’s previous record at Ravenel’s Spring Auction. This smaller work is now the highest price paid at an auction anywhere for a Tzu-chi Yeh work.
Works by Japanese artists such as Yayoi Kusama, Masaru Schichinohe and Tomoya Tsukamoto also did well. Tomoya Tsukamoto’s “Inside the Forest” received many inquires before the auction and competing bids drove the final price to US$ 57,822, ten times higher than the estimated price.
Flora Fu, President of the Taipei Art Department, remarked that “both semi-annual auctions achieved record-breaking success on the occasion of Ravenel’s 15th anniversary. At the Spring Auction, Zao Wou-ki’s ‘Plantes tortillées’ set a record for an oil painting sold at a Taiwan auction so we collected several of his classic works from different artistic periods for the Autumn Auction. The results were a resounding success and we are greatly appreciative of the interest and support we received. Together, we marked another milestone—the 15th anniversary of the Ravenel International Art Group. Ravenel will continue to uphold its commitment to the presentation of contemporary and modern Asian art for collectors. We look forward to hosting many more auctions in the future.”
Auction Results: total auction turnover of US$ 21,760,874, sold by lot: 80.51%, sold by value: 109.35%
Ravenel Autumn Auction 2014 Taipei
Modern & Contemporary Asian Art
Top 10 Lots by Sales Value