Sungari, one of China's largest art auctioneers, has collected more than 1,500 traditional Chinese paintings and works of calligraphy for its spring auction.

The auction, scheduled for July 30 and 31 at the Asia Hotel in Beijing, is believed to be the one of the largest of its kind in the country this year.

The preliminary public viewing, part of which is held at the site of the auction and part at the Swissotel Beijing Hotel, will last three days, from July 27 to 29.

Over the past decade the annual event of the prestigious auction house has caught the attention of domestic and overseas art collectors.

It is regarded as an indicator of the art market in China, which is growing at an incredible speed.

But this year is a special event it is the 10th anniversary of the founding of Sungari, which has skyrocketed over the past decade and has now become one of the largest art auctioneers in China.

In celebration of its birthday, Sungari is determined to make this year's event very special, sparing no effort in collecting top class artworks.

"Many collectors and dealers, showing their strong support for us, have sent us their cherished stores," said Yi Suhao, Sungari's general manager.

The 1,500 artworks that will go under the hammer at the end of this month are the cream of traditional Chinese paintings and calligraphy currently available on the market.

With a combined starting price of 540 million yuan (US$65 million), the lots of the auction are described as "luxurious" by Zhao Yu, the former president of the Chinese Paintings Academy and now an art advisor of Sungari.

All the works will be divided into 10 specialized groups. The most distinguished artwork, according to Zhao, are two paintings by Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) painter Li Gonglin, one by Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) painter Ma Kui, and three works respectively by Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) painters Wang Meng, Zhao Mengfu and Zhao Lin.

Different from other major Chinese auction houses, Sungari specializes in dealing traditional Chinese paintings and calligraphy and currently holds several sales records in the field.

Together with the rapid development of the art market in Chinese mainland cities Beijing and Shanghai, the prices of traditional Chinese paintings and calligraphy works here have caught up with, and sometimes even exceeded those at the Hong Kong, New York and London markets.

(China Daily July 19, 2005)