ByIANSlife Features

November 8, 2020 (IANSlife) This December, the auction house is honoured to present an iconic painting by one of the most important artists of the 20th century. It will unveil Sanyu’s Goldfish as a major masterpiece of the autumn season. Goldfish is the first and only work by the artist to depict eight goldfish in such exquisite detail as the central subject of the composition, making the work completely unique and without compare within the context of the artist’s oeuvre.

The painting will be presented as the focus of a stand-alone, single lot evening auction immediately following the Modern and Contemporary Art Evening Sale on 2 December in Hong Kong.

Depicting eight goldfish – a symbol of luck, hope, and prosperity – Goldfish is entirely unique in the context of Sanyu’s oeuvre. According to the first and second volumes of the artist’s catalogue raisonné, Sanyu only created 11 oil paintings in his lifetime that include the subject of fish, four of which currently reside in the permanent collection of the National Museum of History in Taipei. Among them, Goldfish is the only work that presents the fish in a still-life format, with the cylindrical fish bowl resting upon a tabletop decorated with auspicious symbols, a setting more commonly seen in Sanyu’s paintings of flowers and indoor scenes.

Painted during the 1930s–1940s, Goldfish is a spectacular example of Sanyu's avant-garde artistic vision, demonstrating how he blended, deconstructed, and combined disparate artistic styles and aesthetics in his work. His application of ink-and-brush style lines, the simple but refined use of colour, and tactical spatial handling reflect his understanding and exploration of modern Western art, while simultaneously expressing the poetic aesthetic elements of the East.

The painting is endowed with a truly illustrious provenance, having been exhibited across the globe and included in numerous publications about Sanyu. Goldfish formerly resided in the Robert Frank Collection, collected by one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century who was also an intimate friend of Sanyu's.

In another auction, cashing on to cricket fever, Christie's presents the 'Twenty20 Charity Cricket Auction', a not-for-profit charity sale comprising unique objects from some of the most famous cricketers in history. The overarching aim is to raise funds for charities across the globe, nominated by the legends themselves, at a time when charitable support is more important than ever. The sale is being launched to fill the cricketing void left by the postponement of the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup and includes items from iconic moments in cricket history. This philanthropic auction traverses the cricketing world, from England to India via Australia and Sri Lanka, raising money for more than a dozen different charities across the globe. In addition to historic items, the sale includes unique, personal mementos such as a bat signed by Rachel Heyhoe-Flint, one of the most decorated female cricketers, made from a willow tree in her garden and objects from David Gower, Jacques Kallis, Kapil Dev and many others.

Jussi Pylkkänen, Global President, Christie’s comments, ‘Christie’s Twenty20 Charity Cricket Auction is a once-in-a-generation sale celebrating the careers and accomplishments of the greatest cricketers in history. The global cricketing community has always been fantastically philanthropic – and in these challenging times some of the world’s greatest sportsmen have donated iconic items to benefit charities of their choice. Record-breaking and career-defining moments are documented through the objects in the sale. We hope that cricket fans around the world will participate in bidding in support of these incredible causes to raise much needed funds for the many important charities who will benefit from the sale’.

Dominic Thurlow-Wood, Head of Sale comments, ‘Christie’s is delighted to be bringing a unique celebration of cricket to the market in an otherwise incredibly challenging year for sport and charities across the globe. The auction will raise funds in aid of the Foundation of Goodness, Shahid Afridi Foundation, Lord’s Taverners, Jacques Kallis Scholarship Trust and many others. This extraordinary sale will offer lifelong cricket supporters and the wider sporting community an opportunity to own some of the game’s unique and significant memorabilia, while at the same time helping to make a very real difference to the charities.’

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IANSlife Features can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in