HONG KONG: Sotheby’s celebrated its 40 years of business in Asia by raising a better-than-expected HK$4.2 billion ($542 million) in Hong Kong, a record for the global auction house’s autumn sales in the city.
Sotheby’s biannual sales in Hong Kong are considered a barometer of demand from China and elsewhere in Asia for some of the world’s most expensive artworks and luxury goods. As many as 16 records were set at the five-day event.
Among the highlights was Zeng Fanzhi’s painting “The Last Supper” — inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s work of the same name — which sold for $23.1 million, setting a record for a piece of Asian contemporary art.
The final result was hailed as a success by Sotheby’s, exceeding its forecasts of some $370 million for the more than 3,500 lots on offer. The amount was almost double the $280 million Sotheby’s sold at its spring Hong Kong sales in April.
“We’ve taken the pulse of the Asian art market — it’s racing and we are racing with it,” Sotheby’s Asia Chairman Patti Wong said in a statement, adding that the result “demonstrates the importance of Hong Kong as an international selling center.”
A 118.28-carat white diamond fetched $30.6 million, a world auction record for such a gem and the most expensive item sold during the event. The buyer’s identity was not disclosed.
China’s diamond market, now the world’s second-largest after the United States, has more than tripled to $22.8 billion over the last five years, market research firm Euromonitor says.
Another record was set by a massive Ming gilt-bronze figure of a seated Shakyamuni Buddha, which went to a Chinese collector from Guangdong for $30.3 million.
While prices for some paintings and ceramics were strong, the jewellery auction saw around a quarter of pieces go unsold.
Demand for fine Chinese paintings was robust, with 95.3 percent of works sold by lot. They included the auction favorite, Chinese ink master Zhang Daqian’s “Spring Dawns Upon the Colorful Hills,” which sold for $4.47 million.
Another bright spot was Chinese imperial ceramics, with a blue-and-white palace bowl from the Chenghua period fetching $18 million and a celadon-glazed “Longevity” Ruyi-handled Qianlong vase selling for $11.4 million, five times its estimate.
“The market is very good, better than last year,” said Liu Cheng, a Shanghai dealer who goes to the sales every year.
“Although the economy is slowing down, there are still many rich people in China. Some new buyers have come who just want good items without knowing about previous prices, which led to (the current) high prices.”
China led world auction revenue for arts and collectibles in 2012, with 8.9 billion euros ($12.02 billion), according to the French government’s Conseil des Ventes art market report.
But the market has been dogged by problems, including a Chinese customs investigation of tax evasion on art imports that has cooled sentiment. Other risks are taxes, regulations, widespread fakes and market manipulation, experts say.
Sotheby’s sets record with $542m Hong Kong sales
Sotheby’s sets record with $542m Hong Kong sales
An annual rich list says Paul McCartney is Britain’s first billionaire musician
- The annual Sunday Times Rich List calculated that the wealth of the 81-year-old musician and his wife, Nancy Shevell, had grown by 50 million pounds since last year
- McCartney ranked 165th overall on the newspaper’s respected and widely perused list of the UK’s 350 richest people
LONDON: According to figures released Friday, the former member of the Fab Four is the first British musician to be worth 1 billion pounds ($1.27 billion).
The annual Sunday Times Rich List calculated that the wealth of the 81-year-old musician and his wife, Nancy Shevell, had grown by 50 million pounds since last year thanks to McCartney’s 2023 Got Back tour, the rising value of his back catalogue and Beyonce’s cover of The Beatles’ “Blackbird” on her “Cowboy Carter” album.
A “final” Beatles song, “Now and Then,” was also released in November and topped music charts in the US, the UK and other countries. Surviving Beatles McCartney and Ringo Starr completed a demo track recorded in 1977 by the late John Lennon, adding in guitar by George Harrison, who died in 2001.
The newspaper estimated 50 million pounds of the couple’s wealth is due to Shevell, daughter of the late US trucking tycoon Mike Shevell.
McCartney ranked 165th overall on the newspaper’s respected and widely perused list of the UK’s 350 richest people. Top spot went to Gopi Hinduja and his family, who own the banking, media and entertainment conglomerate Hinduja Group and are worth an estimated 37 billion pounds.
Other entertainment figures on the list include “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling, whose fortune is estimated at 945 million pounds, and singer Elton John, estimated to be worth 470 million pounds.
King Charles III ranked 258th with an estimated wealth of 610 million pounds. The king’s fortune includes the large inherited private estates of Sandringham in England and Balmoral in Scotland. The total does not include items that are held in trust by the monarch for the nation, such as the Crown Jewels.
Miniature poodle Sage fetches top prize at Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show
- Sage, a 4-year-old black-colored female groomed in the fine, fluffy topiary style traditional for poodles, competed head to head against the winners in six other groups
- The Westminster dog show bills itself as the second-oldest US sporting event, behind only the Kentucky Derby thoroughbred horse race
NEW YORK: A sprightly miniature poodle named Sage was crowned “Best in Show” on Tuesday at the 148th annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, winning the grand prize in the most prestigious competition among pure-bred canines in the United States.
Sage, the finalist representing 21 breeds classified as non-sporting dogs, triumphed over more than 2,500 top-ranked dogs competing in the two-day contest, held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in the Queens borough of New York City.
Sage, a 4-year-old black-colored female groomed in the fine, fluffy topiary style traditional for poodles, competed head to head against the winners in six other groups — terriers, hounds, herding dogs, working dogs, sporting dogs and toy dogs.
She was the first female to win the top prize at Westminster since 2020, according to commentators on the Fox Sports channel, which broadcast the event live.
And she became the fourth miniature poodle to claim the top prize in the 148-year history of the contest, with the trophy previously going to her breed in 1943, 1959 and 2002, according to kennel club records.
The larger “standard” poodle breed has been declared Best in Show five times, most recently in 2020, and the smaller “toy” poodle breed has won twice.
The poodle originated as a hunting dog in Germany and is now recognized as the national dog of France.
Sage’s handler, Kaz Hosaka, cried tears of joy and carried his prized poodle in his arms around floor of the auditorium to cheers of the crowd as he celebrated what he said was his 45th year participating at the Westminster dog show and the last of his career.
The Westminster dog show bills itself as the second-oldest US sporting event, behind only the Kentucky Derby thoroughbred horse race. This year’s competition drew a field of contenders representing 200 breeds from all 50 US states and 12 other countries.
Mercedes, a female 4-year-old German shepherd, was named runner-up for the overall contest, after first winning the top prize in the herding dog group.
Along with Sage and Mercedes, the two other finalists chosen on Monday were Comet the Shih Tzu, representing the toy group, and Louis, the Afghan hound leading the hound group.
Rounding out the finalists were three group winners chosen on Tuesday — Micah the black cocker spaniel, representing sporting dogs; Monty, the giant schnauzer, leading the working dogs; and Frankie, a colored bull terrier from the terrier group.
‘Miracle’ survivor found 5 days after building collapse
- When we went down to the side of the slab we had uncovered, we heard somebody inside, and we stopped all the heavy operations
JOHANNESBURG: Rescuers and onlookers cheered and applauded on Saturday as a survivor was rescued after 116 hours from underneath the rubble of a collapsed building in South Africa, with the tragedy having killed at least 13.
Provincial premier Alan Winde said on X: “It is a miracle that we have all been hoping for.”
An apartment block under construction in the southern city of George crumbled on Monday afternoon while an 81-person crew was on site.
“When we went down to the side of the slab we had uncovered, we heard somebody inside, and we stopped all the heavy operations,” Colin Deiner, head of rescue operations, told reporters.
Rescuers then called out to the survivor, and he spoke back, Deiner said.
“He indicated to us that he’s got weight on his legs, and we’re very concerned about that after such a long period.” After several hours, the survivor was extricated and rushed to a hospital.
Rescue teams have been working against time since the structure came crashing down.
Twenty-nine people were rescued alive, while thirty-nine remained unaccounted for.
Winde said a “difficult” identification process was underway, and police were using fingerprints, DNA testing, and photographs.
The city had approved construction plans for a 42-unit apartment block in July.
The reasons for the collapse are still unknown.
Biden jokes Trump should have injected himself with bleach
- Biden also made light of Trump’s “love letters” from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un
- In a senior moment, Biden mistakenly referred to Kim as the president of South Korea
PORTOLA VALLEY, California: US President Joe Biden joked on Friday that he wished former President Donald Trump had injected himself with a little bleach, resurrecting one of Trump’s more head-scratching moments from the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden, at a fundraising event south of San Francisco for his re-election campaign, said the presidency of his Republican opponent was chaotic and that voters should keep that in mind. Biden and Trump are locked in a close contest ahead of the November election.
“Remember him saying the best thing to do is just inject a little bleach in your arm? That’s what he said. And he meant it. I wish he had done a little bit himself,” Biden said.
During the early months of the pandemic in 2020, Trump said that an “injection inside” the human body with a disinfectant like bleach or isopropyl alcohol could help protect against the virus.
Biden also made light of what he called Trump’s “love letters” from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, although Biden mistakenly referred to Kim as the president of South Korea.
Trump had met with Kim and exchanged a number of letters with him, copies of which he kept in a loose-leaf binder in the Oval Office.
A spokesperson for the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Biden’s remarks.
Biden has made light of Trump’s bleach comment before, saying on April 24 in Washington that Trump had injected himself and “it all went to his hair.”
Meaty issue: German political party calls for €4.90 price cap on doner kebabs
- Die Linke appeals to government as price of national favorite hits €10 in some cities
- Scheme would cost taxpayer about €4bn
LONDON: German political party Die Linke has urged the government to cap the price of a much loved food item — the doner kebab.
The party has proposed providing daily vouchers to households that would limit prices to €4.90 ($5.28) and €2.90 for young people under an initiative known as Donerpreisbremse.
The scheme is projected to cost the government about €4 billion.
Introduced after the Second World War by Turkish immigrants who adapted the dish to suit local tastes, the doner kebab is a national favorite in Germany, with an estimated 1.3 billion consumed annually. But their soaring price has become a hot-button political issue.
Die Linke said the cost of a doner kebab had reached €10 in some cities, from €4 just two years ago.
“For young people right now it is an issue as important as where they will move when they leave home,” said Hanna Steinmuller, a lawmaker with the Greens party.
“I know it’s not an everyday issue for many people here … but I think as voter representatives we are obliged to highlight these different perspectives.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was famously confronted by a voter last year who demanded he “speak with Putin … I’m paying €8 for a doner.”
With public pressure mounting, Scholz recently acknowledged on social media that “everywhere I go, mostly by young people, I get asked if there should be a price cap for doner kebabs.”
Despite the appeals, the chancellor rejected the proposal, citing the impracticality of price controls in a free market economy.
Despite its humble origins as a street food, the doner kebab has become an unexpected point of political focus.
Last month, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier sparked controversy when on a visit to Turkiye he gifted 60 kg of kebab meat from Berlin to Istanbul in what some called a clumsy attempt to symbolize the strong cultural ties between the two nations.
