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SINGAPORE : An auction of modern and contemporary Southeast Asian art held on Sunday set record prices.
The Sotheby's sale was packed with collectors and dealers who were prepared to pay thousands of dollars to own the works.
One painting by Indonesian artist Nyoman Masriadi was expected to sell for up to $25,000. In the end, a Southeast Asian collector paid $360,000 for it, setting a world record price for a Masriadi painting.
It makes the painting the most expensive work by a living artist sold at the auction.
Quek Chin Yeow, Deputy Chairman of Asia Sotheby's, said: "I think it was quite a statement. It is an interesting painting. It is quite a controversial painting as well, and I think ultimately the collectors do recognise the quality of the picture."
"Maternite" by late Vietnamese artist Le Pho sold for more than $550,000, setting a new record for his work.
But that wasn't the most expensive painting.
One of the highlights of the sale was Sonnega's "Land of My Dreams". This is the very first time it has gone up for auction and was expected to reach up to $185,000. In the end, it went for $720,000.
And with a 20 percent buyer's premium added to all sales, that meant a final price tag of nearly three-quarters of a million dollars.
As the bids soared, Sotheby's more than doubled its $4.5 million estimate for the auction.
It says $10.7 million is a new record level for them selling Southeast Asian paintings in Singapore.
This is the last time the auction house's Southeast Asian Paintings Sale is being held in Singapore.
Next year the works will go under the hammer at its Asian auction house in Hong Kong. - CNA/de
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