That it generally works well was evident at Ewbank’s (22.5% buyer’s premium) 502-lot Asian sale in Send on April 12 when two Chinese abstract watercolour landscapes were consigned by a local vendor.
Given a nominal estimate of £80-120, they attracted international competition.
It emerged that they had been identified as by the eminent Hong Kong artist Lui Shou-Kwan (1919-75). His major works can easily command six figures but these were ink and colour works on paper.
Both with Chinese inscriptions, one, 3ft 1in x 18in (94 x 46cm), showed a pagoda in a mountainous landscape with three red stamp marks. The other, 2ft 6in x 15in (77 x 38cm), was a more abstract landscape with calligraphy and red stamp mark.
Both sold to a Malaysian buyer on the phone, the first at £8000, the second at £8500 (shown above).
