A 1960 oil painting by China-born Chu Teh-Chun led a Hong Kong auction of Asian modern art by Christie's International Plc that fetched a total of HK$353 million (US$45.5 million), double the amount expected.

Village de pluie rouge, Maison de nuage blanc No. 53 by Paris-based Chu went to an unidentified Asian collector for HK$25.9 million, four times the top-end estimate, Christie's said. Amnesia and Memory: Boy, a 2005 oil-painting by Zhang Xiaogang fetched HK$3.5 million, 12 times the official top estimate at Sunday's sale.

"I was surprised it sold for that much," said Ken Yeh, deputy chairman of Christie's Asia, in a phone interview. "I thought this painting would sell for about HK$1.5 million."

In the last two years, American and European bidders have begun competing fiercely with local collectors for contemporary Chinese art.

Village de pluie shows black ink lines on a blood-red background, reminiscent of the sword movements of Chinese martial arts, Christie's said.

Zhang, born in 1958 in China's southwestern province of Yunnan, draws inspiration from private collections of old family photos, and from charcoal portraits and sketches by street vendors in China.

Among the 444 works by Asian artists auctioned in the sale, Yue Minjun's 1995 work Enchanted Spring, which depicts a grinning androgyne in white heels and a striped T-shirt, sold for HK$4.8 million, six times Christie's top estimate.

In November, Gweong-Gweong, a 1993 oil on canvas by Yue, a native of China's northeastern oil-town of Daqing, fetched HK$4.9 million at Christie's in Hong Kong, compared with a top estimate of HK$450,000.

Marilyn Monroe versus Chairman Mao, a red-and-white painting by Korean artist Kim Dong-Yoo, sold for HK$2.6 million on Sunday, 26 times the high-end estimate for the work.

Adrien-Jean Le Mayeur de Merpres's Terrace Affording a View of the Sea sold for HK$13.6 million, the highest price for a Southeast Asian piece. The Belgian-born artist, who died in 1958, portrayed Indonesian women in his impressionistic piece.

The sale was part of a five-day auction of art, ceramics and jewelry by Christie's that ends on Thursday. The highlight is a Ming Dynasty copper-red vase that's expected to fetch a record HK$60 million when offered topday.

Christie's and rival Sotheby's Holdings Inc hold auctions twice a year in Hong Kong. London-based Christie's counts Hong Kong as its third-biggest market after New York and London.

(Shanghai Daily May 31, 2006)