Vietnam triumphant at Christie’s in Hong Kong, or the enchanting scent of white peonies

Following the very strong results (12 lots sold out of 12) – almost 28 million Hong Kong dollars (HKD) – of the inaugural ‘Henderson’ sale in Hong Kong on 26th and 27th September, Christie’s offered a very fine group of 14 works on 9th November, all of which also sold for a total of HKD 18,005,400.

Five artists. Four techniques. Two countries.

• One woman (Alix Aymé), four men (Vu Cao Dam, Mai Thu, Pham Hau, Le Pho).
• Four died in France, one (Pham Hau) in Vietnam.
• Three lacquers, seven oils on canvas or panel, one ‘pastel and pencil’, three gouaches and ink on silk.
• Created between 1934 and the 1970s.
• Three in Vietnam (the Mai Thu, the Pham Hau and the portrait of Le Thi Luu by Le Pho), eleven in France.

They represent the identity of ‘Vietnamese’ painting, which oscillates between the ‘right of the soil’ and the ‘right of the blood’. To be continued…

Among the works on display, we described in detail Vu Cao Dam’s ‘Peonies’ (lot 194). The work almost quadrupled its low estimate, demonstrating a growing interest in the painter-sculptor’s stunning Vence period.

Le Pho’s large ‘portrait of Le Thi Luu’ (lot 198) also sold for 2.5 times its low estimate. Already sold for HKD 1,710,000 at Christie’s on 26 May 2013, it went for HKD 5,040,000 on 9 November.

Similarly, the gouache and ink on silk (lot 199) (‘Elegant Lady near the Fence’) sold for HKD 2,772,000, having previously fetched HKD 1,480,000 on 29 May 2016, also at Christie’s. Tripling in 11 years for one, doubling in 8 years for the other, two significant examples of the painter’s steady and healthy rise.

In addition to his ‘Peonies’, Vu Cao Dam won over buyers by doubling (lot 200) or tripling (lots 201 and 205) the estimates for his oil paintings from the Findlay period.

A large Le Pho (lot 203), also from the Findlay period dominated by yellows and blues, quadrupled its estimate, while his ‘Still Life with Flowers and Apples’, circa 1952-54 (lot 204) won over its public by more than doubled its estimate.

Mai Thu (lot 196) continues to be hampered by an overabundance of works on the market. However, this only applies to his work from the 1950s onwards. Portrait of a Young Vietnamese Girl’, a pastel and pencil dated 1934 by the artist who remains the best portraitist in Vietnamese painting, only reached its low estimate.

The atypical Pham Hau (lot 197) exuded a Japanese influence, probably acquired between 1940 and 1945… It sold for its full price.

Finally, Alix Aymé (lots 192 and 193) achieved two fine results for lacquers from the 1950s. The artist had broken her world record with an iconic lacquer on 26 September during the inaugural session at the Henderson.

In terms of figures, to the HK$28 million of the inaugural September sale, we must add the HK$18 million of the sale on 9 November and the prices achieved by the 2 works sold online on 12 November (a Le Pho (HK$604,800) and a Tran Luu Hau (HK$214,200).

So a total of 28 works out of 28 for a total of HKD 46,653,200 were auctioned at Christie’s in Hong Kong in just over 6 weeks. Rounding up the figures (the constant fluctuations in exchange rates allow us to do so), this equates to 5.65 million euros or 6 million US dollars.

Taken together, these results confirm Christie’s undisputed pre-eminence in Vietnamese painting.

Christie’s was the first international auction house to inaugurate a Vietnamese expertise and section in 1997 in Singapore.

27 years later, Vietnamese painting is doing well.

The air is peaceful, as if permeated by the enchanting scent of white peonies…

Jean-François Hubert