Christie's sold the Ai Lian Tang Collection of imperial Chinese art for HK$214.49 million in Hong Kong on Oct. 29, with 29 of its 30 lots finding buyers, according to the auction house's published results. A carved emerald-green jadeite snuff bottle from the late Qianlong period fetched HK$25.91 million, nearly five times its high estimate.

The sale posted the highest total of the four Asian Art Week sales reviewed here, part of Christie's autumn series, held Oct. 27 to 30 at its Hong Kong saleroom. For collectors and the wealth managers who advise them, the week offered a fresh read on demand for Chinese ceramics, jade and classical painting, categories that depend heavily on buyers from mainland China, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Results across the sales were uneven: trophy pieces with long collecting histories drew heavy bidding, while the middle of the market was thinner.

Christie's publishes results sale by sale rather than as a single weekly figure on its auction pages, so the totals below come from each sale's results page. All prices include buyer's premium.

Ai Lian Tang and Au Bak Ling collections lead Chinese ceramics

The top lot of the Ai Lian Tang sale was a yangcai "Hundred Deer" vase in hu form, bearing a Qianlong seal mark, which sold for HK$35.06 million against an estimate of HK$18 million to HK$25 million. A Yongle-period blue and white flask, or bianhu, followed at HK$33.84 million, above its HK$25 million to HK$30 million estimate. A large eel-skin glazed amphora with a Yongzheng mark made HK$18.56 million, more than double its high estimate.

The jadeite snuff bottle, carved with a taotie mask and estimated at HK$3.5 million to HK$5.5 million, was the third most expensive lot of the sale. Snuff bottles rarely reach eight figures in Hong Kong dollars, and the price was well above anything else of its kind in the sale: the next best snuff bottle, an imperial falangcai enamelled glass bottle with a Qianlong mark, made HK$2.56 million. A late Qing "icy" jadeite censer and cover also beat expectations, selling for HK$7.94 million against a high estimate of HK$3 million.

The same day, Christie's offered the third volume of the Au Bak Ling Collection, which raised HK$140.53 million. Bidding was more selective there: 25 of 40 lots sold, according to the results page. An imperial Xuande-period blue and white quatrelobed flask was the top lot at HK$25.3 million, within an estimate of HK$18 million to HK$38 million. A Yuan dynasty blue and white octagonal jar decorated with a narrative scene of the Queen Mother of the West sold for HK$21.64 million, toward the lower end of its HK$12 million to HK$35 million range.

The gap between the two collections matters for consignors. Ai Lian Tang sold 97% of its lots, while Au Bak Ling sold 63%, a reminder that a named collection does not guarantee a full sale when estimates are set high.

Bada Shanren album and Himalayan art

The week opened on Oct. 27 with Fine Chinese Classical Paintings and Calligraphy, which totaled HK$106.8 million. Nearly 58% of that came from one lot: a Bada Shanren album of flowers and birds, which sold for HK$61.9 million against an estimate of HK$12 million to HK$18 million.

Below that lot, the sale was soft. Only 53 of 78 lots sold, and a Shen Zhou work titled "Pine Trees and Calligraphy" made HK$6.4 million, short of its HK$10 million low estimate. A Wang Hui landscape went the other way, selling for HK$4.1 million against a high estimate of HK$800,000.

The Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art sale on Oct. 30 raised HK$78.53 million, with 31 of 49 lots sold. A thangka of Mahakala inscribed by the Eighth Karmapa and a gilt copper alloy Vajrasattva from central Tibet each fetched HK$12.8 million. The thangka had been estimated at HK$3 million to HK$4 million.

The Vajrasattva, from Densatil monastery and dated to about 1370, had been estimated at HK$10 million to HK$12 million. A silver and copper inlaid figure of Avalokiteshvara from western Tibet, dating to the 10th or 11th century, made HK$8.96 million, inside its estimate.

What the results say about the collectibles market

Chinese works of art have held up better at the top than consumer collectibles this autumn. Pop Mart, the Beijing-based maker of Labubu figures, said its third-quarter revenue fell sharply as demand for the toys cooled, a contrast with the bidding for centuries-old porcelain and jade.

The pattern at Christie's suggests buyers are paying for scarcity and provenance and passing on the rest. Across the four sales with published results, 138 of 197 lots sold, about 70%, while the few headline lots carried most of the value.

Christie's commemorative exhibition on the Royal Academy's 1935-36 International Exhibition of Chinese Art stays open at The Henderson in Central until Nov. 6, by appointment, according to Christie's event page.