In addition to frequently appearing in the financial and entertainment editions, Liu Luanxiong's name ("Da Liu") has also become the protagonist of auction news from time to time.
No, Sotheby's just released the news: this season's Hong Kong Spring Auction is about to present the "Imperial Garden Treasures - Liu Luanxiong Collection of Imperial Porcelain Treasures", which immediately attracted the attention of the collection circle. Last year, a random "Liu Luanxiong Cellar Wine" special session was white gloves (Liu Luanxiong sells wine and another white glove!). Rich people can even earn more than hoarding alcohol), and the ability to absorb gold is evident.
It is reported that the 8 pieces of porcelain released in this special session are from famous collections, including excellent representatives of important porcelain of various dynasties. There are not many of them, only eight, but the valuation has exceeded HK$150 million, and the most eye-catching Yongle Blue and White Dragon Pattern Jar is only valued at HK$45 million to HK$65 million. Even Mr. Qiu Guoshi, Chairman of Sotheby's Asia Region, International Director of the Chinese Art Department and Chairman of the Ministry of Art, came out to personally call: "Liu's strict selection of precious porcelain from the prominent old collection, the utensils stored are all outstanding, which can be called the crown of the dynastic category." "And the porcelain auctioned this time is just the tip of the iceberg in all of Da Liu's collections."
The editor who said it was very moved, and wanted to immediately enter the collection empire of "Da Liu" to find out: how many "billion" collections have been taken over the years? What are the orphan porcelain pieces that collectors are eager to release this time?
Sotheby's Hong Kong "Royal Garden Treasures — Liu LuanXiong's Collection of Imperial Porcelain Treasures"
Video source: Sotheby's Asia
01
Playing collecting from the age of 28
The "billion" level collection he has won over the years
The collection story about Liu Luanxiong cannot be told for three days and three nights... He said to himself that he "didn't understand art, he bought it with his interests", but he became the "world's top collector" selected by ART News. From the age of 28, Liu Luanxiong began to buy Chinese porcelain, then began to buy Chinese paintings, and later began to buy Western paintings in large quantities.
Liu Luanxiong's collection is very wide, in addition to porcelain, famous paintings, famous wine, as well as furniture, sculptures, jewelry and so on. Liu Luanxiong once said: "As long as there are works that flow out of the market that are good enough and beautiful enough, I want them, so I buy more and collect miscellaneous, which is the most mixed taste among collectors in the world who can buy hundreds of millions of dollars." "Decades of accumulation have made the total value of its collections more than 20 billion."
Let's comb through Liu Luanxiong's "Weishui History" in the collection circle over the years:
2006
What really made Liu Luanxiong famous in the collecting world was the painting of Mao Zedong by the American pop master Andy Warhol in New York in 2006 for more than $17 million (about 130 million Hong Kong dollars), which set a world record for the highest price of Warhol's works at the time.
Andy Warhol "Mao"
In the same year, Lau bought David Hornick's The Splash through Sotheby's for £2.9 million (about HK$43 million at the time). At sotheby's Contemporary Art Show in London in February 2020, Liu Luanxiong sold it for £23.117 million (about HK$230 million at the time), earning eight times in 14 years.
David Hornick, "The Splash"
2007
In 2007, Liu Luanxiong bought Gauguin's Tahiti painting "Early Morning" for $39.2 million.
Gauguin "Early Morning"
At Christie's Hong Kong Spring Auction in the same year, Liu Luanxiong bought Wu Guanzhong's 1973 work "Scenery of the North Country" for HK$31.68 million.
Wu Guanzhong,"Scenery of the Northern Kingdom"
2009
In 2009, Liu Luanxiong made another bid to buy 7.03 carats of cushion-shaped internal flawless Fancy Blue Diamonds at Sotheby's in Geneva for more than HK$74 million (US$9.48 million). This blue diamond broke two auction records, a record for the unit price of any gemstone carat and a record for the Brilliant Blue Diamond.
7.03 ct blue diamond
2010
At the 2010 Hong Kong Christie's "Important Chinese Porcelain and Craftsmanship" autumn auction, a pair of "QingYongzheng Imperial Filigree Enamel Double Crane Incense Burners" aroused Liu Luanxiong's interest. Liu Luanxiong wanted to buy this product as a birthday gift for his mother. He competed by telephone and won it for 129.46 million yuan 10 minutes later, setting a world auction record for filigree enamel. Liu Luanxiong said that even if the auction price is higher than the current transaction price, he will still chase the price: "In my mind, even if it is more than 200 million, I will buy it." ”
Qing Yongzheng imperial filigree enamel double crane incense burner
2011—2012
In 2011, Liu Luanxiong bid for Qi Baishi's "Landscape Album" for 194 million yuan.
At the Sotheby's Auction in Hong Kong in 2012, a Northern Song Dynasty Ru kiln azure glazed sunflower wash fell for HK$208 million, setting a world auction record for the Ru kiln auction. This lot was also photographed by Liu Luanxiong.
Northern Song Dynasty Ru kiln azure glaze sunflower washing
In 2012, he spent another $16 million on Picasso's 1955 painting Les Femmes D'Alger F.
Picasso' Woman of Algiers (F)
2015
In 2015, he bid for a 16.08 ct pink diamond and a 12.03 ct blue diamond for HK$220 million and HK$370 million respectively for his current wife, Gambi's daughter, at an auction in Geneva, Switzerland.
16.08 ct pink diamond and 12.03 ct blue diamond
2020
According to Hong Kong media, this year, Liu Luanxiong frequently shipped goods through auction houses, of which 3 Changyu works cashed out 522 million Hong Kong dollars. One is Blue Flower Pots and Chrysanthemums, which Was auctioned by Sotheby's, which Liu Luanxiong bought for HK$34.82 million in 2009 and sold for HK$187 million; the second is with Crossed Legs, which Liu Luanxiong bought for HK$7.34 million in 2004 and sold for HK$168 million; the third painting, Chrysanthemums in Blooming in Blooming Blooming In Blue Flower Pots, which Liu Luanxiong bought for HK$7.73 million in 2004 and Christie's sold for HK$167 million this time.
Chang Yu "Chrysanthemums Blooming in Blue Flower Pots"
02
Eight pieces of porcelain are valued at more than 150 million
"Imperial Garden Treasures - Liu Luanxiong Collection of Imperial Porcelain Treasures"
Starting from 2020, Liu Luanxiong frequently sold his personal collections, from famous paintings to fine wines.
In the spring of 2022, he once again joined hands with Sotheby's to present a special auction of "Imperial Garden Treasures - Liu Luanxiong Collection of Imperial Porcelain Treasures". Although the number of lots is small, it also gives us a glimpse of the "Da Liu" porcelain collection taste.
Ming Xuande Blue and White Passion Lotus Pattern Small Plate "Daming Xuande Year System" 15.3cm
Estimate: HK$1.5 million to HK$2 million
Ming Chenghua Blue and White Double Dragon Catching Pearl Pattern Plate "Daming Chenghua Year System" 16.3cm
Estimate: HK$20 million to HK$30 million
Half a century after the Yongle Dynasty, Chenghua Imperial Kiln Ware, Xiuyi Zhizhi, was a ceramic connoisseur Xiang Mu, but there were only more than twenty pieces in the private collection. Liu's collection of blue and white plates, elegant ornaments on the outside of the vessel, are elegant and rare in the dynasty. The warm porcelain tires, the elegant blue flowers, and the silky glaze are all exquisite evidence of the Chenghua Royal Kiln, and it is no wonder that people flock to it.
Qing Yongzheng Pastel over the branch Fushou double full-grained large plate
"Great Qing Yongzheng Year System" 51cm
Estimate: HK$18 million to HK$25 million
Among the Qing Dynasty porcelain in Liu's collection, there are Yongzheng pastel Fushou double full-picture large plates, peach blossoms blooming, fruits, dense branches and leaves, born over the wall, once baron Iwasaki and Barbara. Hutton's collection is of outstanding origin. Shou peach is an excellent subject for the imperial kiln craftsmen to play their strengths, and between the tender green and yin red, the subtle pastel tone changes vividly reflect the delicacy of the peach. Although there are several examples that have been handed down, each painting is slightly different and different.
Akira Hiroshi Yellow ground blue flower folded branches of the tree flower pattern plate
"The Year of the Reign of the Great Ming Dynasty" is 26.2cm
Estimate: HK$3 million to HK$5 million
Ming Yongle Blue and White Dragon Pattern Jar Height 24.4cm, width 29.8cm
Estimate: HK$45 million to HK$65 million
Liu's Collection of Ming Yongle Blue and Flower Dragon Pattern Jar, the two beasts of the mysterious painting chase each other, the brushstrokes are flexible, and the cobalt blue is colorful, which is the best work of the early Ming Dynasty, he has no example, or is an orphan product. The dragon on the jar coincides with the Tibetan Buddhist motif, and it is speculated that it should have been used in the royal monastery or even the key Buddhist site of the Kyoshi.
Qing Yongzheng Coral red ground multicolored folded branches floral pattern light bowl pair
Yongzheng Imperial System 11.9cm
Ming Yongle Sweet white glazed dark flower tangled lotus eight auspicious pattern monk hat pot 19.5cm
Estimate: HK$5 million to HK$7 million
Qingqianlong glazed red dragon reishi gourd bottle
The Qianlong Year of the Great Qing Dynasty is 29 .8cm
Estimate: HK$8 million to HK$12 million
According to Hong Kong media, Liu Luanxiong's collection of Chinese porcelain is numerous, accounting for the majority of the Ming and Qing dynasties, and the source is clear; the tang and Song dynasties have relatively few porcelains and will not be easily cut. The eight pieces of Ming and Qing dynasty porcelain that he cut this time are a very small part of his collection.
03
Why are shipments frequent?
Art collecting is a high-yielding investment
From the eight pieces of Ming and Qing dynasty porcelain that Liu Luanxiong cut his love this time, it can be seen that the porcelain collection vision of "Da Liu" is really good.
So everyone's curiosity came again, why did Liu Luanxiong frequently ship?
Unlike most of the rich bidders on the auction floor, Liu Luanxiong has never hidden his use of collecting as an investment tool. "When I first bought it, I felt that it didn't matter, as long as the things were good, beautiful, and happy to buy." 30 years ago, a piece of porcelain bought for 1 million to 2 million yuan is now 40 million to 50 million a piece, and buying an office building can't rise so much. Perhaps it is understandable why "Big Liu" will sell his collection at every other stage: in 2020, he sold several masterpieces, and then twice joined hands with Sotheby's to hold a special auction of "Liu Luanxiong's Cellar Wine"...
He once talked about the estimated return on investment in various types of art in media interviews: at least 100 times for porcelain! Chinese painting 10-20 times! Western painting 5 times!
This time, the first release of the porcelain collection is a good opportunity to verify the prediction of the "Big Liu" collection. At that time, after the auction (April 29) is raised, we will analyze it in detail. Stay tuned!
Edit | Yu Yi
Photo | Sotheby's, the magazine's database
【Copyright Notice】The original content of this WeChat statement is the exclusive original of "Collection and Auction", and may not be reproduced and used without authorization.