Bloomberg tries to make hay out of the antagonism between the Chinese government and Christie’s over the sale of the Bergé bronzes from the Beijing Summer Palace Zodiac Clock but gets no takers. Instead, the focus is on some rare works up for sale (all bullet points are quoted from Bloomberg’s story):

• The blue-and-white dragon vase, bearing the mark of Emperor Yongzheng (reign: 1723-1735),[ . . . ] a vase with a twin at a Beijing museum[,] may fetch $18 million ($2.3 million)
• Other highlights at Christie’s antiques sale include the twin of a Qing Dynasty clock that fetched a record HK$39.5 million last May. The 30-inch-tall musical-and-automaton clock, which decorated the palace during Emperor Qianlong’s reign (1736-1795), is expected to fetch as much as HK$15 million, Christie’s said.

“The mood has improved,” said Tian Kai, a Beijing-based contemporary-art dealer and collector, a regular at Hong Kong auctions. “People are more optimistic and willing to buy.”

• The star lot in the contemporary-art category is Liu Ye’s 2005 oil-on-canvas “Boogie Woogie, Little Girl in New York,” which is expected to sell for up to HK$6 million.

Christie’s to Hold First China Auction Since YSL Bronzes Sale (Bloomberg)