2013
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Cui Ruzhuo Nara Kusama Ghenie Modern China Mountains in China Mercedes-Benz Formula One Dinosaur
See also : Cui Ruzhuo Nara Kusama Ghenie Modern China Mountains in China Mercedes-Benz Formula One Dinosaur
2013 CUI RUZHUO
1
2013 The Grand Snowing Mountains (8 panels)
2015 SOLD for HK$ 236M by Poly
Cui Ruzhuo assembles polyptychs composed of vertical panels painted in line and wash on paper in his signature finger ink technique. A single monumental work may occupy a full wall in an exhibition.
His themes appeal to the Chinese sensitivity. His favorite is the unlimited landscape of snowy mountains, eternally indifferent to men.
The Grand Snowing Mountains, inspired by Jiangnan, was painted in ink and color on paper by Cui Ruzhuo in 2013.
It was sold by Poly on April 7, 2015 for HK $ 236M, lot 2314, just after being prepared as a set of eight mounted panels 292 x 143 cm.
His themes appeal to the Chinese sensitivity. His favorite is the unlimited landscape of snowy mountains, eternally indifferent to men.
The Grand Snowing Mountains, inspired by Jiangnan, was painted in ink and color on paper by Cui Ruzhuo in 2013.
It was sold by Poly on April 7, 2015 for HK $ 236M, lot 2314, just after being prepared as a set of eight mounted panels 292 x 143 cm.
2
The Grand Snowing Mountains (8 panels)
2016 SOLD for HK$ 307M by Poly
A similar example was sold by the same auction house on April 4, 2016 for HK $ 307M from a lower estimate of HK $ 150M as a mounted set of six for an overall 300 x 870 cm, lot 1213.
Asking Grok
Snowing Mountains by Cui Ruzhuo, sold by Poly on April 4, 2016, lot 1213. Check significance in the artist's career. Is it a rearrangement in six panels from the same landscape in eight panels sold by Poly on April 7, 2015, lot 2314 ?
Grok thought :
The sale of "The Grand Snowing Mountains" (also known as "Feixue Ban Chun" or "Flying Snow Accompanying Spring") for HK$306 million (approximately $39.5 million) at Poly Auction Hong Kong on April 4, 2016, marked a pivotal moment in Cui Ruzhuo's career. It set a new auction record for the artist, making it the most expensive work by a living Chinese artist at the time and one of the highest-priced artworks by any living artist globally. This sale underscored Cui's dominance in the contemporary Chinese ink painting market during the mid-2010s, where he repeatedly topped annual rankings for living Chinese artists by auction turnover (e.g., via Hurun Art List reports). It also reflected the booming demand for traditional-style Chinese ink landscapes amid a recovering art market post-2008 financial crisis, with Cui's finger-painting technique and snowy mountain motifs gaining international recognition. The work contributed to his cumulative auction sales exceeding $100 million in 2016 alone, solidifying his status as a leading figure in modern Chinese art.
No, the 2016 six-panel painting is not a rework of the eight-panel painting sold by Poly on April 7, 2015 (lot 2314). Records indicate the eight-panel work you referenced is likely "The Grand Snowing Mountainous Jiangnan Landscape" (completed in 2013 but sold on April 7, 2015 at Poly Auction Hong Kong for HK$236 million, with some sources possibly misstating the year due to the completion date). That 2015 sale was an eight-panel set, while the 2016 lot 1213 is a separate work (also completed in 2013) with different dimensions (299.5 x 873 cm) and no documented connection as a rework. Cui Ruzhuo has created multiple large-scale snowy mountain-themed polyptychs throughout his career, often in sets of varying panel counts, making these distinct pieces rather than modifications of each other.
Asking Grok
Snowing Mountains by Cui Ruzhuo, sold by Poly on April 4, 2016, lot 1213. Check significance in the artist's career. Is it a rearrangement in six panels from the same landscape in eight panels sold by Poly on April 7, 2015, lot 2314 ?
Grok thought :
The sale of "The Grand Snowing Mountains" (also known as "Feixue Ban Chun" or "Flying Snow Accompanying Spring") for HK$306 million (approximately $39.5 million) at Poly Auction Hong Kong on April 4, 2016, marked a pivotal moment in Cui Ruzhuo's career. It set a new auction record for the artist, making it the most expensive work by a living Chinese artist at the time and one of the highest-priced artworks by any living artist globally. This sale underscored Cui's dominance in the contemporary Chinese ink painting market during the mid-2010s, where he repeatedly topped annual rankings for living Chinese artists by auction turnover (e.g., via Hurun Art List reports). It also reflected the booming demand for traditional-style Chinese ink landscapes amid a recovering art market post-2008 financial crisis, with Cui's finger-painting technique and snowy mountain motifs gaining international recognition. The work contributed to his cumulative auction sales exceeding $100 million in 2016 alone, solidifying his status as a leading figure in modern Chinese art.
No, the 2016 six-panel painting is not a rework of the eight-panel painting sold by Poly on April 7, 2015 (lot 2314). Records indicate the eight-panel work you referenced is likely "The Grand Snowing Mountainous Jiangnan Landscape" (completed in 2013 but sold on April 7, 2015 at Poly Auction Hong Kong for HK$236 million, with some sources possibly misstating the year due to the completion date). That 2015 sale was an eight-panel set, while the 2016 lot 1213 is a separate work (also completed in 2013) with different dimensions (299.5 x 873 cm) and no documented connection as a rework. Cui Ruzhuo has created multiple large-scale snowy mountain-themed polyptychs throughout his career, often in sets of varying panel counts, making these distinct pieces rather than modifications of each other.
3
Four Landscapes
2015 SOLD for HK$ 134M by Poly
A set of four landscapes, ink and color on paper 295 x 142 cm each executed in 2013, was sold for HK $ 134M by Poly on October 5, 2015, lot 2309.
4
Sound of Lotus
2017 SOLD for HK$ 177M by Poly
On the theme of the lotus, a giant Lotus Wind by Cui Ruzhuo, 18 m long and 2.80 m high, was unveiled in the Great Hall of the People in January 2011.
A scroll in ink on paper 147 x 370 cm executed in the autumn of the same year was sold for HK $ 15.2M by Christie's on May 29, 2012, lot 3356. The plants are viewed in a highly dynamic close up from ground to sky.
A set of eight scrolls 247 x 123 cm each by Cui Ruzhuo was sold for HK $ 124M by Christie's on 29 November 2011, lot 2237. The lotus are drawn with distorted shapes. This work is dated from early summer xinmao year matching 2011 CE, a few months before its auction.
Sound of Lotus, ink and color on paper 143 x 520 cm executed in 2013, was sold for HK $ 177M by Poly on October 3, 2017, lot 1211.
A scroll in ink on paper 147 x 370 cm executed in the autumn of the same year was sold for HK $ 15.2M by Christie's on May 29, 2012, lot 3356. The plants are viewed in a highly dynamic close up from ground to sky.
A set of eight scrolls 247 x 123 cm each by Cui Ruzhuo was sold for HK $ 124M by Christie's on 29 November 2011, lot 2237. The lotus are drawn with distorted shapes. This work is dated from early summer xinmao year matching 2011 CE, a few months before its auction.
Sound of Lotus, ink and color on paper 143 x 520 cm executed in 2013, was sold for HK $ 177M by Poly on October 3, 2017, lot 1211.
2013 Mercedes AMG F1
2023 SOLD for $ 19M by RM Sotheby's
Mercedes-Benz had a successful participation in Formula One in 1954 and 1955. Their ambition restarted for the 2010 season with the sponsorship of the energy group Petronas. The drivers were Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher. Schumacher retired before the 2013 season and was replaced by Lewis Hamilton coming from McLaren with which he had won the 2008 drivers' championship at the age of 23.
The model for 2013 was the Mercedes AMG Petronas W04. This F1 season was the last one using naturally aspirated V-8 engines with the signature F1 soundtrack. The chassis 04 was driven by Hamilton in 14 out of the 19 events including the win in the Hungarian Grand Prix. This car was sold for $ 19M from a lower estimate of $ 10M by RM Sotheby's on November 17, 2023, lot 13.
Please watch the video shared by the auction house. The image of this car driven by Hamilton in the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix to a third place finish is shared by Wikimedia with attribution Morio, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.
The co-operation of Mercedes and Hamilton was fruitful. Hamilton won 6 drivers' championship from 2014 to 2020 and Mercedes-AMG 8 successive constructors' championships from 2014 to 2021.
The model for 2013 was the Mercedes AMG Petronas W04. This F1 season was the last one using naturally aspirated V-8 engines with the signature F1 soundtrack. The chassis 04 was driven by Hamilton in 14 out of the 19 events including the win in the Hungarian Grand Prix. This car was sold for $ 19M from a lower estimate of $ 10M by RM Sotheby's on November 17, 2023, lot 13.
Please watch the video shared by the auction house. The image of this car driven by Hamilton in the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix to a third place finish is shared by Wikimedia with attribution Morio, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.
The co-operation of Mercedes and Hamilton was fruitful. Hamilton won 6 drivers' championship from 2014 to 2020 and Mercedes-AMG 8 successive constructors' championships from 2014 to 2021.
2013 Oddly Cozy by Nara
2022 SOLD for HK$ 112M by Sotheby's
The Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011 took place near the hometown of Yoshitomo Nara.
In 2012 the artist tries to offer a message of peace and hope amidst the threats of the world. The titles of his works directly address this increasingly tragic mood.
The big headed little girl of Under the Hazy Sky has a sad gaze. Both her slender arms are stretched to hold a two leaf sprout, symbol of rebirth. This acrylic on canvas 195 x 162 cm was sold for HK $ 69M by Sotheby's on October 9, 2021, lot 1126.
Oddly Cozy is a post-Fukushima work painted in 2013 two years after the disaster.
The bust portrait of the little girl may be compared with her sister of the Can't wait 'til the night comes of the previous year. She is nicer now. The sardonic smile and the diabolic fang have disappeared but the enigmatic cat's eyes are now wide open in contrasting colors.
The mood cannot be easily interpreted but the gaze is inviting to communicate. The title reveals once again the ambiguousness of that society within which the young girls will soon have to find and maintain a place.
This acrylic on canvas 194 x 162 cm was sold for HK$ 112M from a lower estimate of HK $ 80M by Sotheby's on April 27, 2022, lot 1112. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
In 2012 the artist tries to offer a message of peace and hope amidst the threats of the world. The titles of his works directly address this increasingly tragic mood.
The big headed little girl of Under the Hazy Sky has a sad gaze. Both her slender arms are stretched to hold a two leaf sprout, symbol of rebirth. This acrylic on canvas 195 x 162 cm was sold for HK $ 69M by Sotheby's on October 9, 2021, lot 1126.
Oddly Cozy is a post-Fukushima work painted in 2013 two years after the disaster.
The bust portrait of the little girl may be compared with her sister of the Can't wait 'til the night comes of the previous year. She is nicer now. The sardonic smile and the diabolic fang have disappeared but the enigmatic cat's eyes are now wide open in contrasting colors.
The mood cannot be easily interpreted but the gaze is inviting to communicate. The title reveals once again the ambiguousness of that society within which the young girls will soon have to find and maintain a place.
This acrylic on canvas 194 x 162 cm was sold for HK$ 112M from a lower estimate of HK $ 80M by Sotheby's on April 27, 2022, lot 1112. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
2013-2014 Deinonychus
2022 SOLD for $ 12.4M by Christie's
Dame Nature created twice the most terrific beasts, the allosaur in the Upper Jurassic 155 million years ago and the Tyrannosaur at the end of the Cretaceous 66 million years ago. Elderly specimens from both species could grow up to more than 10 m from muzzle to tail's end.
In the mean time the carnivorous dinosaurs had not lost their domination over their territories in current day Wyoming and Montana, in a favorable environment of tropical and sub-tropical forests, lagoons, swamps, and river deltas. One of them, living during the early (lower) Cretaceous 110 million years ago, was the 3.40 m long deinonychus, a wording describing its 5-inch impaling claws.
A detailed study of a deinonychus in the 1960s led to reconsider the opinion about the behavior of the carnivorous giants, from then considered to be agile and fast in their horizontal running posture with stretched tail, so obsoleting the slow standing of the previous popular imagery. Its unusually long stretched arms were used in the attack and the large optic lobes attest for a sharp eyesight. Wrongly identified as the Velociraptor, this species became one of the star dinosaurs in the Jurassic Park franchise.
A 3 m long fossil made of 126 remaining bones was excavated in Montana in 2013-2014. Named Hector in reference to the Iliad warrior, it was sold for $ 12.4M from a lower estimate of $ 4M by Christie's on May 12, 2022, lot 57C.
Further research on the physical capabilities of the deinonychus could help to model the transition from reptile to bird through the archaeopteryx, in the Jurassic, 40 million years earlier.
In the mean time the carnivorous dinosaurs had not lost their domination over their territories in current day Wyoming and Montana, in a favorable environment of tropical and sub-tropical forests, lagoons, swamps, and river deltas. One of them, living during the early (lower) Cretaceous 110 million years ago, was the 3.40 m long deinonychus, a wording describing its 5-inch impaling claws.
A detailed study of a deinonychus in the 1960s led to reconsider the opinion about the behavior of the carnivorous giants, from then considered to be agile and fast in their horizontal running posture with stretched tail, so obsoleting the slow standing of the previous popular imagery. Its unusually long stretched arms were used in the attack and the large optic lobes attest for a sharp eyesight. Wrongly identified as the Velociraptor, this species became one of the star dinosaurs in the Jurassic Park franchise.
A 3 m long fossil made of 126 remaining bones was excavated in Montana in 2013-2014. Named Hector in reference to the Iliad warrior, it was sold for $ 12.4M from a lower estimate of $ 4M by Christie's on May 12, 2022, lot 57C.
Further research on the physical capabilities of the deinonychus could help to model the transition from reptile to bird through the archaeopteryx, in the Jurassic, 40 million years earlier.
#AuctionUpdate In an exhilarating end to our Evening Sales, THE RAPTOR sold with a price realized of $12.4 million pic.twitter.com/uaVEkGtOmk
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) May 13, 2022
2013 Loquat by Dorje Chang Buddha III
2015 SOLD for $ 10.2M before fees by Gianguan Auctions
The Vidyas are the concepts that oppose ignorance to explain the universe. The five major Vidyas are logic, healing, communication, art and enlightenment. Yi Yungao also known as Wan Ko Yee is a master of the Vidyas. Doctor in Buddhism, philosophy, art, calligraphy and painting in 1999, he is also a fellow of the Royal Academy of Arts. He lives in California.
This highly respected personality is self declared as an incarnation of the most important Buddha and is named since 2008 His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III. In 2011 he received the World Peace Prize, an interfaith prize that is often awarded to heads of state. A museum is dedicated to his art and to his cultural work in Covina CA.
His graphic art is varied and fits into the modern world while respecting traditional techniques. His favorite themes are plants, animals and landscapes. His use of inks in vibrant colors is in the following of the Chinese art of the twentieth century by Qi Baishi, Zhang Daqian and Wu Guanzhong, for example.
The figuration of simple themes is an opening to the complexity and subtlety of nature. Lotus Ink expresses how beauty can come out of chaos. This artwork 35 x 69 cm was sold on the benefit of the artist's Buddhist communities for $ 16.5M before fees by Gianguan Auctions on March 22, 2015, lot 109 illustrated in the post sale report shared by PR Newswire. This undated work was arguably executed specially for the auction.
On September 12, 2015, Gianguan Auctions sold for $ 10.2M before fees from a lower estimate of $ 9M Loquat, ink and color 80 x 70 cm on paper hanging scroll painted in 2013, lot 79 here linked on the Invaluable bidding platform.
The image shows the fruits, leaves and branches of a loquat. The intention of the artist is to demonstrate that perfection can be reached in a light and airy composition. It is confirmed by a calligraphic text that subtly takes the shape of an additional branch of the plant.
His Holiness is a skilled artist whose hand does not shake. Loquat was realized without a preliminary drawing and without rework, with a nice contrast of ink density in twigs and leaves.
This highly respected personality is self declared as an incarnation of the most important Buddha and is named since 2008 His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III. In 2011 he received the World Peace Prize, an interfaith prize that is often awarded to heads of state. A museum is dedicated to his art and to his cultural work in Covina CA.
His graphic art is varied and fits into the modern world while respecting traditional techniques. His favorite themes are plants, animals and landscapes. His use of inks in vibrant colors is in the following of the Chinese art of the twentieth century by Qi Baishi, Zhang Daqian and Wu Guanzhong, for example.
The figuration of simple themes is an opening to the complexity and subtlety of nature. Lotus Ink expresses how beauty can come out of chaos. This artwork 35 x 69 cm was sold on the benefit of the artist's Buddhist communities for $ 16.5M before fees by Gianguan Auctions on March 22, 2015, lot 109 illustrated in the post sale report shared by PR Newswire. This undated work was arguably executed specially for the auction.
On September 12, 2015, Gianguan Auctions sold for $ 10.2M before fees from a lower estimate of $ 9M Loquat, ink and color 80 x 70 cm on paper hanging scroll painted in 2013, lot 79 here linked on the Invaluable bidding platform.
The image shows the fruits, leaves and branches of a loquat. The intention of the artist is to demonstrate that perfection can be reached in a light and airy composition. It is confirmed by a calligraphic text that subtly takes the shape of an additional branch of the plant.
His Holiness is a skilled artist whose hand does not shake. Loquat was realized without a preliminary drawing and without rework, with a nice contrast of ink density in twigs and leaves.
2013 The Red Emperor by Currens for Fai Dee
2014 SOLD for HK$ 77M by Sotheby's
The best rubies in the world are extracted from the Burmese valley of Mogok in Myanmar. They are the only ones to exhibit both a beautiful crimson red pigeon blood color and an internal crystal structure that enhance the dispersion of light.
Founded in 1905, the Fai Dee company specializes in the jewelry of rubies. Throughout four generations, the Lunia family gathered for the Fai Dee collection rubies of very high quality without heat treatment.
Some of the most beautiful gems were cut by Fai Dee in a period of eight years, from 2005 to 2012, in two of the most difficult ruby shapes, heart and pear. Operating in Bangkok, Fai Dee cooperates from 2009 with James W. Currens, jewellery designer in New York, to create a magnificent necklace that is named the Red Emperor.
Over a 40 cm platinum and yellow gold mount in several registers, the Red Emperor is assembling thirty heart shaped and thirty pear shaped rubies and many white diamonds cut in brilliant, oval and pear. The set was appraised by the GIA in 2013 which is certainly also the date of completion of the necklace. The total weight is 104.5 carats of rubies and 59 carats of diamonds. The biggest ruby is weighing 5.04 carats.
The Red Emperor was sold for HK $ 77M from a lower estimate of HK $ 68M by Sotheby's on April 7, 2014, lot 1914.
Here are three results for jewelry made of rubies and diamonds.
From the Elizabeth Taylor estate on December 13, 2011, Christie's sold for $ 4.2M an oval ruby of 8.24 carats set on a ring by Van Cleef et Arpels in a surrounding of eight diamonds.
A ring by Currens for Fai Dee centered with an oval ruby of 8.88 carats was sold for HK $ 22M by Christie's on May 28, 2013.
A necklace by Fai Dee with a total weight of 48 carats of rubies separated by butterfly diamonds was sold for RMB 18M by Christie's on September 26, 2013.
Founded in 1905, the Fai Dee company specializes in the jewelry of rubies. Throughout four generations, the Lunia family gathered for the Fai Dee collection rubies of very high quality without heat treatment.
Some of the most beautiful gems were cut by Fai Dee in a period of eight years, from 2005 to 2012, in two of the most difficult ruby shapes, heart and pear. Operating in Bangkok, Fai Dee cooperates from 2009 with James W. Currens, jewellery designer in New York, to create a magnificent necklace that is named the Red Emperor.
Over a 40 cm platinum and yellow gold mount in several registers, the Red Emperor is assembling thirty heart shaped and thirty pear shaped rubies and many white diamonds cut in brilliant, oval and pear. The set was appraised by the GIA in 2013 which is certainly also the date of completion of the necklace. The total weight is 104.5 carats of rubies and 59 carats of diamonds. The biggest ruby is weighing 5.04 carats.
The Red Emperor was sold for HK $ 77M from a lower estimate of HK $ 68M by Sotheby's on April 7, 2014, lot 1914.
Here are three results for jewelry made of rubies and diamonds.
From the Elizabeth Taylor estate on December 13, 2011, Christie's sold for $ 4.2M an oval ruby of 8.24 carats set on a ring by Van Cleef et Arpels in a surrounding of eight diamonds.
A ring by Currens for Fai Dee centered with an oval ruby of 8.88 carats was sold for HK $ 22M by Christie's on May 28, 2013.
A necklace by Fai Dee with a total weight of 48 carats of rubies separated by butterfly diamonds was sold for RMB 18M by Christie's on September 26, 2013.
2013 Pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama
2021 SOLD for HK$ 63M by Christie's
The Pumpkin reference LPASG, acrylic on canvas 130 x 130 cm painted in 2013 by Yayoi Kusama, was sold for HK $ 63M from a lower estimate of HK $ 45M by Christie's on December 1, 2021, lot 52. The canvas is square and the patterns of dots are tight.
The Pumpkin reference SKLO, acrylic on canvas 130 x 162 cm painted in 2013, was sold for HK $ 51M by Christie's on May 24, 2021, lot 59.
For the first time in 1994 Yayoi Kusama exhibited a larger than life massive yellow and black-dotted pumpkin sculpture at the end of a pier. It was followed by many others.
The version L is the largest bronze of Pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama, 240 x 235 x 235 cm. It was cast in 2014 in an edition of 8 plus 2 artist's proofs. The 8/8 was sold for HK $ 63M by Sotheby's on April 5, 2023, lot 1118. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. The rows of dots cover the whole surface in decreasing size from top to bottom of the ribs.
The Pumpkin version M edited in 2014 is a bronze 187 x 187 x 182 cm. The number 8/8 was sold for $ 6.5M by Sotheby's on November 16, 2022, lot 15.
The Pumpkin reference SKLO, acrylic on canvas 130 x 162 cm painted in 2013, was sold for HK $ 51M by Christie's on May 24, 2021, lot 59.
For the first time in 1994 Yayoi Kusama exhibited a larger than life massive yellow and black-dotted pumpkin sculpture at the end of a pier. It was followed by many others.
The version L is the largest bronze of Pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama, 240 x 235 x 235 cm. It was cast in 2014 in an edition of 8 plus 2 artist's proofs. The 8/8 was sold for HK $ 63M by Sotheby's on April 5, 2023, lot 1118. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. The rows of dots cover the whole surface in decreasing size from top to bottom of the ribs.
The Pumpkin version M edited in 2014 is a bronze 187 x 187 x 182 cm. The number 8/8 was sold for $ 6.5M by Sotheby's on November 16, 2022, lot 15.
