Five years ago, as the world was gripped by Covid, Asia’s first livestreamed auctions of modern and contemporary art at Sotheby’s and Christie’s in fall 2020 realized a combined total of HKD 3.4 billion (USD 437 million). The following season, at the height of the market (in Asia especially, which accounted for approximately 40 percent of 2021 global sales volume), the number topped HKD 4.2 billion (USD 544.1 million). Fast forward to September 2025: Hong Kong’s inaugural marquee auction week—a milestone that saw the three international houses going head-to-head for the first time, holding their sales at their respective newly established Asia headquarters—concluded with little fanfare, generating an aggregate of HKD 1.5 billion (USD 190.6 million) (note: if not specified as hammer price, sale amounts and totals include auction fees, whereas estimates do not).

Christie’s Hong Kong – September 26

Christie’s achieved HKD 817.3 million (USD 105 million) across its evening and day sales, accounting for over 50 percent of the total among the three houses. Their evening sale kickstarted the auction marathon on Friday, headlined by the season’s biggest highlight: Pablo Picasso’s Buste de Femme (1944), a classic by the artist of Dora Maar in a red dress. Returning to market after more than 25 years in private hands, the work ignited a 15-minute battle between two phone bidders, moderated by Rahul Kadakia, newly appointed president of Christie’s Asia Pacific, taking the rostrum for the first time in Hong Kong. The painting doubled its low estimate, selling at HKD 196.8 million (USD 25.4 million) to a collector on the phone with Ada Ong, chairman of Christie’s Taiwan, setting a new auction record for Picasso in Asia.

The next highest prices of the night were for Zao Wou-ki’s fresh-to-market, fiery red abstract painting 17.3.63 (1963), which drew a single bid at its low estimate of HKD 70 million (USD 9 million), and Claude Monet’s landscape Printemps à Giverny, effet d’après-midi (1885), which hammered at HKD 30,000,000 (USD 3.9 million), short of its estimate. Bidding was measured throughout the 38 lots, 11 of which were backed, i.e. guaranteed to be sold at an unspecified minimum price. Most lots hammered within estimates or around the low, with spurts of livelier competition for works by Western masters. A second Picasso, a reclining nude from 1964, hammered at HKD 26,000,000 (USD 3.3 million), within estimates; a quiet portrait by Paul Cézanne estimated at HKD 6 million (USD 771,200), one bid above its high estimate; while Marc Chagall’s Fleurs ou Bouquet de fleurs aux amoureux (1930) proved popular, hammering at HKD 12 million (USD 1.5 million) against a HKD 3 to 5 million estimate.

Asian names accounted for around 45 percent of the sale by lot. After Zao Wou-ki, the top prices were for works by Yayoi Kusama: a three-pumpkin canvas from 2015 hammered within estimates at HKD 28,000,000 (USD 3.6 million), while a red and silver 2010 pumpkin sculpture hammered at HKD 9.5 million (USD 1.2 million), one bid above its low estimate. Zeng Fanzhi’s gigantic 2008 abstract landscape, priced conservatively at HKD 3 to 5 million, hammered at HKD 7.1 million (USD 912,600), while a large Takashi Murakami double-panel painting from 2001 hammered at HKD 7 million (USD 899,700), shy of its HKD 8 million low estimate.

Later, a painting by midcareer Chinese figurative artist Chen Fei hammered at HKD 700,000 (USD 90,000), less than half of its low estimate. Other lots falling short included canvases by once in-demand names Dana Schutz, Jonathan Gardner, and Issy Wood. Three lots had no takers, the most expensive casualty being David Hockney’s Table with Conversation (1988), priced at HKD 40 to 60 million. A recent 2023 canvas by Adrian Ghenie, estimated between HKD 7.5 and 11.5 million, also went unsold.

Phillips Hong Kong – September 27

While there was no big-ticket Yoshitomo Nara lot at Christie’s on Friday, major paintings by the artist took center stage at Phillips and Sotheby’s on the following nights. At Phillips, Pinky (2000), a fresh-to-market portrait from a brief (and hence sought-after) early period in Nara’s oeuvre, was revealed as the house’s star lot at the end of July. Priced at HKD 60 to 80 million, it held the highest estimate for a work of this scale by the artist at auction. On September 27, in a room sparsely attended compared to Christie’s and Sotheby’s, there were no fireworks. Lisa Chow, managing director at Patti Wong & Associates, bid up the rare Nara to HKD 43 million in the room, and the work hammered at HKD 44 million (USD 5.7 million) to senior specialist Kevie Yang at the phone bank. In post-sale press releases and on the online lot page, the estimate was adjusted downwards—almost halved—to HKD 35 to 55 million.

Seven out of the night’s 27 lots were withdrawn ahead of the sale, including works by Loie Hollowell, Pierre Soulages, Damien Hirst, and Takashi Murakami, indicating lack of interest. In what could be a first, the evening sale also featured three no-reserve lots by Georges Mathieu, Hao Liang, and Javier Calleja, which rustled up chatter on the phones but all sold below estimates; the Calleja fetched just 32 percent of its low estimate. Brighter spots included strong demand for an oil on paper work by Firenze Lai, who recently signed with White Cube; an auction record for a Jean-Michel Othoniel glass sculpture; and the debut of a Ruth Asawa at auction in Hong Kong—a small hanging sculpture from circa 1987 hammered at HKD 3.2 million (USD 411,300) to a collector on the phone with senior vice president Takako Nagasawa.

Sotheby’s Hong Kong – September 28

Sotheby’s rounded up the evening sale marathon on Sunday. Its headlining lot, Nara’s Can’t Wait ’til the Night Comes (2012), which last sold at Christie’s Hong Kong in November 2019 for HKD 92.9 million (USD 11.9 million), was priced at HKD 65 to 85 million and backed with a guarantee. Again there were no fireworks—the sparkly-eyed girl with a fanged smirk hammered at one bid above the low estimate to a collector on the phone with Wendy Lin, chairman of Sotheby’s Asia. With fees, the price realized was HKD 79.9 million  (USD 10.3 million), a 14 percent drop over six years. The night’s next highest value lots were Roy Lichtenstein’s late landscape, Vista with Bridge (1996) from the Collection of Dorothy and Roy Lichtenstein, which hammered at HKD 25 million (USD 3.2 million), below its low estimate, to a collector on the phone with Boris Cornelissen, head of sale; and a 1969 Picasso painting on cardboard, Buste d’homme, which hammered at HKD 16.5 million (USD 2.1 million) to a phone bidder with Jen Hua, chairman of China.

At the start of the night, a canvas by 27-year old Chinese painter Li Hei Di sold for HKD 2.7 million  (USD 342,800), more than doubling its high estimate to set a new auction record for the artist. There were some strong results for works by female artists, including a small exquisite Christine Ay Tjoe canvas, which hammered at HKD 1.7 million (USD 218,500), over double its high estimate; a purple abstract painting by Lalan, which hammered at HKD 2.8 million (USD 359,900) to Patti Wong in the room; and a delicate abstract painting resembling vegetal forms by Louise Bourgeois, À Baudelaire (#5) (2008), which set a new auction record for a Bourgeois work on paper at HKD 6.2 million (USD 796,900).

However, prices across the board were subdued, even for historical names, which meant discount purchases for astute collectors. Kazuo Shiraga’s Gutai-period Work (1962), which last sold at the same house in October 2016 for HKD 14.5 million (USD 1.9 million), fetched HKD 12 million (USD 1.5 million). The next lot, Takeo Yamaguchi’s Ho (Crawl) (1961), was bought by Alexander Gardiner of Art Intelligence Global in the room for HKD 4.8 million (USD 620,300); three years ago in May 2022, Christie’s Hong Kong sold the same work for HKD 12.5 million (USD 1.6 million). Sotheby’s withdrew five lots from the 45-lot sale, including a white 2000 infinity net by Yayoi Kusama, a portrait by Amoako Boafo, and a large 2001 Zeng Fanzhi mask canvas that last sold for HKD 21.7 million (USD 2.8 million) in 2016, returning to—and exiting—the auction block at an estimate of HKD 14 to 24 million.

For several years leading up to and during the pandemic, Hong Kong’s auction scene was as an important platform for collector engagement, introducing Western contemporary art to the region and facilitating curated sales that revived interest in postwar Asian art movements. It also, more controversially, directly fueled the hype and speculation that positioned art as pure asset. Now, in a softened market, collectors in Asia have not only become ultra-discerning and price-sensitive, but also have access to a broader array of purchasing avenues for secondary material, including established dealers. Whether auctions in Hong Kong can avoid becoming just a marketplace for discounted material will depend on their ability to foster sustained and genuine engagement across various collector tiers while properly honoring both regional and global cultural narratives.

Michele Chan is managing editor at ArtAsiaPacific.