Poly Hong Kong Grand Hyatt Auction Held Recently
The auction house's website shows that the multi-million dollar ink painting suspected of being thrown into the landfill, "Landscape in the Snowy Mountains," was created by Chinese-American artist Cui Ruzhuo in 2012. It measures 1.79 meters in height and 3.81 meters in length, with an estimated value of HK$25 million to HK$35 million. It was sold for HK$28.75 million at the auction the day before yesterday (April 7).
Poly Auction (Hong Kong) is the first auction house to be listed in Hong Kong and is known as the "Chinese Sotheby's." Its parent company, Poly Group, was originally affiliated with the General Staff Department of the People's Liberation Army before being transferred to a central state-owned enterprise under the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission in 2003. Reporters called Poly's public relations department for inquiries but received no response by the time of publication. Reporters also called the Grand Hyatt hotel and left contact information but did not receive a reply by the time of publication.
CCTV Footage Reviewed; Police Classify as Theft
The incident occurred at the Grand Hyatt Ballroom, Grand Hyatt Hong Kong, 1 Harbour Road, Wan Chai. Starting last Friday (April 4), Poly Auction held the "Poly Hong Kong 2014 Spring Auction" there. The auction items included famous paintings and antiques from across Asia, such as works by Zhang Daqian. The contemporary ink exhibition featured a "Tai Pu Ru Zhuo — Cui Ruzhuo Masterpiece Special Session," which displayed and auctioned 22 ink paintings by Cui Ruzhuo, with individual sale prices ranging from over one million to over one hundred million Hong Kong dollars.
The incident occurred around 3:00 PM yesterday. A 31-year-old person in charge of the auction, surnamed Tang, was organizing paintings that had not yet been delivered to new buyers in the ballroom when they discovered that Cui Ruzhuo's work "Landscape in the Snowy Mountains," which had just sold for HK$28.75 million, was missing and reported it to the police in alarm. According to on-site reports, after arriving at the scene, the police reviewed CCTV footage and found that cleaning staff had entered the ballroom before the incident and taken the painting. It is suspected that the painting was treated as trash and transported away, and it is preliminarily estimated that it was taken to the Nim Wan Landfill in Tuen Mun, making it difficult to recover. The case is being handled as theft and has been handed over to the Regional Crime Unit of the Wan Chai Police District for follow-up. No one has been arrested yet.
If Confirmed, Cleaning Company May Be Liable for Compensation
Luo Shaoxiong, president of the International Professional Insurance Consulting Association, stated that the original owner of the painting should have insured it. Only after the painting is sold and delivered to the new buyer would the new buyer insure the painting in their possession. Unique famous paintings are considered high-risk items, and premiums are calculated annually. If the painting needs to be exhibited or stored in a way that carries higher risk, the premium will be higher. Luo Shaoxiong added that auction houses also purchase negligence insurance for the entire auction event, so if it is confirmed that the incident was caused by cleaning staff, the cleaning company may have to bear significant compensation costs.
