The auction, one of five held by Sotheby's over three days, was notable for what it said about the willingness of collectors to bid up previously inexpensive or even obscure works as well as to confirm values for more established artists. From pop art to photography to oils, most lots handily beat their pre-sale estimates.

The auction kicked off with photography and that began the sizzling bidding. Photographs are a good place for collectors to get into the market. They often don't take any special knowledge to appreciate, they look good on the wall and they are affordable. Or at least they were.

Buyers of most of the dozen lots of photographs drove prices above estimates. The fact that most of these photos had increased in price more than tenfold in a few years didn't seem to matter.

Neither did the fact that some experts argue that some photos are little more than records of performance art rather than serious photography. None of this, nor the idea that multiple editions of the same print might exist , deterred bidders.

Zhang Huan's 12 Square Meters fetched double its estimate, bringing in HK$204,000. (Sale prices include a buyer's premium of 20 percent on the first HK$1.5 million and 12 percent after that; auction estimates exclude the premium.)

The picture depicts Zhang, who had anointed his body with honey and what the catalogue describes as "visceral liquid from fish'' sitting naked in a public toilet, his body covered with flies.

The work of pioneering photographer Lang Jingshan (1892-1995) is more traditional but no less pricey: a pair of his prints brought in HK$252,000, quadruple the estimate. Lang's composite photographs, assembled from different negatives, echo Chinese landscape paintings. The photos are evocative, approachable, well-known and carry an impeccable provenance, coming from the collection of one of Lang's friends and patrons.

If photo prices surprised on the upside, the record for paintings was strong but not quite not as impressive, given the higher prices and greater selection.

  Above: Chaos by Gu Wenda; Below: Andy Warhol by Wang Guangyi.

There were some notable successes. The abstract oils of Paris-based painter Zao Wou-ki (Zhao Wuji) have rocketed in value in the past decade as a new generation of Chinese collectors adopted him.

Zao is one of the few Chinese artists who is successful both internationally - he is something of an icon in France - and in his home country. His work 11.1.1959 commanded HK$5.72 million at the auction. Another piece sold right in the middle of the estimated range, bringing in HK$900,000, with buyer's premium. A modest ink drawing comfortably beat estimates with its HK$324,000 price.

But three of Zao's pieces, including a striking abstract oil with a HK$2 million-HK$3 million estimate, simply didn't sell. That may have reflected overly ambitious estimates by owners, but it could augur poorly for an upcoming auction. Rival Christie's May 29 Chinese & Asian contemporary art auction will feature 12 Zao paintings for sale.

At Sotheby's, older masters also showed surprising strength.

Wu Guanzhong, born into a peasant family in 1919, is emerging as an increasingly popular painter among collectors. Working in oils, Wu synthesizes Western and Eastern styles. He studied in Paris during the 1940s but draws heavily on Chinese masters as well.

After Zao Wuji, the HK$3.7 million that Wu's Banyan Tree in Xishuangbanna brought was the highest price of the auction. Wu's four lots, including work from Paris, brought in almost HK$12 million altogether.

The Parisian work, painted on a trip sponsored by the Seibu department store, could be seen as yet another cliched look at the former artist's district of Montmartre. But the anonymous buyer or buyers of the paintings were not deterred.

Taiwan's Ju Ming saw a solid re-ception for his popular bronze tai chi sculptures. The three lots sold brought HK$240,000 to $780,000 each.

  No 145 by Zhu Dequin

Xu Bing, recipient of a prestigious MacArthur Foundation grant in the United States and well-known for his plays on Chinese calligraphic tradition, saw both his works sold at more than double the estimate.

Gu Wenda, also known for his inventive working with calligraphic tradition, brought several times the estimate.

In both cases, however, Sotheby's estimates were on the low side and the final prices were in line with what the artists are commanding in New York and London.

In all, the sale brought a very respectable HK$41.1 million with 63 of 72 lots sold. That was nearly double the HK$22 million realized in Sotheby's first auction of contemporary Chinese art, held last autumn and featuring 50 lots.

The real test of the market will be the Christie's auction at the end of the month. That sale will have a staggering 397 lots, more than quintuple the size of Sotheby's sale.

Besides the inability of Zao to sell half of his offerings at Sotheby's, buyers will also be interested to see how Korean art fares in the upcoming auction, given the weak response that the eight Korean lots at Sotheby's met.

Minor disappointments aside, the sale was part of a set of very strong early May sales for Sotheby's in Hong Kong. The three-day series of auctions, whose themes included watches, Chinese ceramics, jade, jewels and classical Chinese paintings, brought in a total of HK$634.3 million, a record for Sotheby's in Hong Kong. Most of the buyers were Chinese, largely from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Indonesia. Mainland bidders were more active than in the past.

editor@thestandard.com.hk