Sotheby's to launch a series of sales to mark its 40th anniversary in Hong Kong

KOLKATA: Sotheby's 40th anniversary in Hong Kong will be marked by a series of sales there this autumn. Among the many things to be offered this season are two major works - full of political and cultural significance - consigned for sale by renowned collectors and philanthropists Baron and Baroness Guy and Myriam Ullens de Schooten.

The two Chinese masterpieces - Red Flag 1 (1971), an important political realist work by Chen Yifei, and The Last Supper (2001), one of the most significant works by contemporary Chinese artist Zeng Fanzhi - will be sold on Saturday, 5 October 2013 in Hong Kong as part of the Sotheby's Hong Kong 40th Anniversary Evening Sale.

Appearing for the first time at auction, and having been exhibited in many major exhibitions, these two masterpieces' appearance provides an unprecedented opportunity for discerning collectors worldwide to acquire acknowledged highpoints of modern and contemporary Chinese art.

Red Flag 1 by Chen Yifei is estimated at HK$45-60 million/US$5.8-7.7 million. As for The Last Supper By Zeng Fanzhi, as works of this calibre only rarely come to the market, it is difficult to predict The Last Supper's value. However, given that the current record auction price for Zeng Fanzhi, achieved for a painting from the Mask series, is HK$75,367,500/US$9,660,023, it is expected that this unique work will realise in excess of HK$80 million/US$10.3 million.