Selected highlights will be showcased in travelling exhibitions in Jakarta (2 – 3 March), Shanghai (7 – 8 March), Beijing (10 – 11 March), Chengdu (13 – 14 March), Singapore (17 – 18 March), Bangkok (20 – 21 March) and Taipei (24 – 25 March), followed by a public exhibition of all of the properties on offer at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from 31 March to 3 April.

Kevin Ching, Chief Executive Officer of Sotheby’s Asia, said, “We are proud to open the Spring auction season in Asia with an exciting series of sales. Of particular note, we will offer a Song dynasty washer from the fabled Ru kilns, the ultimate fantasy of collectors through the centuries. We are also very privileged to offer the third instalment of the Meiyintang Collection of Imperial Chinese Porcelains, the grandest collection of its kind in Europe.

Among the exceptional paintings that we have collected, there is an abstract work by Zao Wou-Ki entitled 25.06.86 as well as an early Bloodline — Big Family: Family No.2 (pictured left) by contemporary artist Zhang Xiaogang. A dazzling 8.01-carat Emerald-cut Fancy Vivid Blue Diamond and Diamond Ring will be the piece de resistance of our exceptional jewels.

In response to the blossoming connoisseurship and avid demand in China, Sotheby’s will be having an inaugural exhibition in Chengdu where jewellery and watch highlights will be showcased, in addition to our customary exhibitions in Shanghai and Beijing where all categories will be represented. Expanding the geographical scope of our exhibitions is just one among many new strategic initiatives tailored for China, the fastest growing art market in the world.”

The 2012 program is complete with a global list of performers, with the headline act, Chris Thomas King, performing in Thailand exclusively at the Festival. Also performing are Gráinne Duffy (Ireland), John Meyer’s Blues Express (Australia), AkashA (Malaysia) and Clas Yngström (Sweden).

Now in its seventh year, the ever-popular two-day event has found a new home this year, amongst the tropical gardens and serene backdrop of Laguna Grove at Laguna Phuket. The Festival is a charity event, with funds donated to Patong Beach Rotary Club’s children’s education fund.

General admission for two days: THB 1,500 at the gate; THB 1,200 advance purchase from various outlets around the island. The show runs from 5pm to midnight on both days and is well worth a visit.

Serena Sutcliffe MW, Worldwide Head of Wine at Sotheby’s, said: “We are very honoured that we are able to bring to auction this splendid collection, mainly classic Claret going back to 1953, but with a lovely sprinkling of glorious Champagne and Vintage Port to begin, and end, celebration meals. The core of this great sale is the marvellous array of Bordeaux 1982s and comparative tastings of the greatest 1982s are some of the best wine experiences you can have. I had fun constructing my perfect dinner party wines in the run-up to Christmas. By the time this sale takes place in London on 25 January, it would be as stimulating to create ideal dinner scenarios, but this time for Chinese New Year.”

The 1982s are dominated by the First Growths and the Super Seconds, in complete cases and in-depth quantities. A plethora of bottles together with Magnums, Jeroboams and Imperials provides many opportunities to acquire this unique vintage. The great heat in the summer of ’82 created the special character of the year, when perfect ripeness combined with a high yield to provide quality and quantity. The First Growths and their Right Bank equivalents are all outstanding. All five First Growths are represented. 12 bottles of Château Lafite 1982, estimate £22,000-28,000 per lot, are complemented by multiple lots of Château Latour 1982, estimate £14,000-18,000 per 12 bottles and £10,000-13,000 per Imperial, Château Margaux 1982, estimate £7,000-9,000 per 12 bottles, Château Haut Brion 1982, estimate £5,500-6,500 per 12 bottles, and Château Mouton Rothschild 1982, estimate £9,000- 12,000 per 12 bottles. From the Right Bank, a 12 bottle case of Château Pétrus 1982 in original wood is the highest value lot in the sale, with an estimate of £36,000-44,000  – pictured above.

On 8th February 2012, Sotheby’s London Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale will offer a selection of works of exceptional quality and importance. Highlights include Joan Miró’s monumental Peinture of 1933 (pictured right), estimated at £7-10 million, Gustav Klimt’s recently rediscovered landscape Seeufer mit Birken (est. £6 – 8 million), which has not been seen in public in over a century, and a rare and atmospheric winter scene by Claude Monet, L’entrée de Giverny en hiver (est. £4.5 – 6.5 million). The auction features a particularly strong Surrealist group, with works by Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, Yves Tanguy and René Magritte, as well as an outstanding group of paintings by German artists including Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Emil Nolde, Lyonel Feininger and Otto Dix. The sale is estimated to realise in excess of £78 million.

Helena Newman, Chairman, Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art, Europe, said: “We are delighted to present a wonderfully rich and varied sale to collectors, with many works of museum quality from every key period in the Impressionist to Modern canon. Many of the works are appearing at auction for the first time or returning to the market after many decades in private collections.”

The Think Design Arts Festival will be taking place from the 27th to the 30th of December at Royal Phuket Marina’s convention centre, focusing on promoting various forms of art, specifically Thai artists and Phuket culture.

Over 200 exhibitors will present an amazing range of work, totaling thousands of artwork pieces. This community building event will be the biggest celebration of art in Phuket to date, showcasing works by local and international artists.

The festival will include hours of free workshops for children, performance art, sculpture on the boardwalk, video art in two video performance rooms, spoken word performances, musical performances and fashion shows.
A portion of the proceeds will benefit two Phuket charities, Phuket Has Been Good To Us Foundation and Soi Dog Foundation.

www.thinkdesignartfestival.com

Our Surin office is located directly opposite the entrance to The Amanpuri and The Surin hotels. Opening hours as follows:

Monday to Friday: 10am to 5pm

Saturday: 10am to 2pm

Sunday: open by appointment (please call Andrew on +66 (0)85 069 8070 to make an appointment)

We are open throughout the festive season, with the exception of Sunday 25th December.

Our Cherngtalay office is located near the entrance to Laguna and opens one hour earlier at 9am.

Please follow this link for a location map of both offices.

Peter Selley, Senior Director and Specialist in Sotheby’s Books & Manuscripts Department, said: “The record price set today reflects the huge international interest in Charlotte Brontë’s work and Sotheby’s was honoured to sell a manuscript of such importance and rarity. The tiny Young Men’s Magazine, written by Brontë at the age of 14, provides a fascinating insight into the development of one of history’s great literary minds and reveals the preoccupations which would characterise some of the best known scenes in her adult writing.”