Christie’s Hong Kong: The triumphant Philipe Damas Collection and the excellent health of Vietnamese painting
The superb premises of Christie’s Hong Kong, within the breathtaking Henderson Tower – by architect Zaha Hadid – in the shape of Bauhinia, Hong Kong’s official flower: curved, flowing lines, stylized petals, a bloom in progress.
A symbol and a showcase for the Philippe Damas collection (“A quest for Eternity”) presented in Hong Kong on March 29, 2025.
51 works painted between 1885 and 1983 illustrating the 4 founding modes of Vietnamese painting:
- Traveling painters, adventurers in the others desire
- Teachers at the Hanoi School of Fine Arts, conquerors of the other’s talent
- Vietnamese artists who emigrated to France in the name of universality
- And those who remained in Vietnam, defenders of uniqueness.
We have previously described the complete collection (4 articles from February 28 to March 4).
The results of the sale speak for themselves:
- A total of 60.5 million Hong Kong dollars / 7.2 million euros / 7.85 million US dollars.
- 13 world records : Nguyen Gia Tri, Joseph Inguimberty, Jos-Henri Ponchin, Victor Tardieu, Luu Van Sin, Nguyen Sang, Albert Cézard, Henri-Émile Vollet, Gaston Roullet, Marcel Bernanose, Georges Barrière, René Bassouls, François de Marliave et 1 record in Asia, Tran Phuc Duyen.
- Together with 7 other paintings not in the Philippe Damas collection, this brings the total to 71.6 million Hong Kong dollars / 8,5 million euros / 9,2 million US dollars
Let’s be thorough and add the two Le Pho sold “online” – US$40,320 and US$44,100 – in New York on February 28, another Le Pho and a pair of Mai Thu sold in Shanghai on April 3 – respectively US$101,000 and US$80,000 and a Vu Cao Dam sold in Paris (€40,320, December 14, 2024), all of which were destined to be sold in Hong Kong.
The total for the “Spring” season was therefore €9.5 million/$10.1 million USD/
If we add the (already excellent) results of the Hong Kong “ autumn” sale in September 2024 (€5.65 million / US$6 million), we end up with a 12-month total of €15.1 million / US$16.1 million.
A record.
Five observations are in order:
- Collectors praised the intellectual interest of the collection, the collector’s constructive approach, the long-standing nature of the project, and the aesthetic choices made.
- The entire Christie’s team presented the collection to perfection, from the introductory film to the erudite catalog (reserved for the happy few). A stroll through the dedicated rooms at the Henderson, where everything was conducive to serene observation, was enough to convince anyone, if necessary.
- Once again, the figures confirm Christie’s absolute and unchallenged leadership of the Vietnamese painting market.
- The results obtained testify to a rapidly growing market, with works now worth millions of US dollars or euros.
- A new development is the international recognition of French painter-travelers in general, and Jos-Henri Ponchin in particular, for a large oil on canvas, “Marché au Tonkin”, which fetched HKD 3,528,000 / € 412,000 / USD 455,000.
Jean-François Hubert