Art by master Zhang Daqian Photo:Courtesy of Holly auction

Holly's International held its Beijing 2022 Spring Auction preview event on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Kerry Hotel in Beijing. 

Hundreds of Chinese and international art treasures are set to go under the hammer when the official two-day auction kicks off on Thursday. 

The auction will be separated into seven sections including modern and contemporary art, Chinese paintings, arts and crafts, tea and liquor as well as ancient scripts. There will also be an exhibition of jewelry and watches for participants to negotiate in private. 

The auction will start with tea and liquor section, followed by the modern and contemporary art section, which gathers more than 150 pieces of artworks by renowned Chinese and foreign artists such as Chinese painter Xu Beihong, US visual artist Andy Warhol and Japanese-French painter Fujita Tsuguharu.

Portrait of Goddess Guan Yin is one of the most famous paintings from Xu. It once belonged to major historical figures Zhang Xueliang and Soong Mei-ling. 

One of Warhol's very last works, Mercedes-Benz W196R Grand Prix marks the first time one of the iconic pop artist's large-scale creations will be auctioned in the Chinese mainland market. 

The Chinese painting and calligraphy section set to be launched on the second day of the auction is sure to be attention-grabbing with more than 160 pieces up for auction. 

Works from Zhang Daqian, one of the best-known and most prodigious Chinese painters of the 20th century, will appear along with other paintings and calligraphy works from Chinese artists such as Qi Baishi, Fu Baoshi, Qi Gong and Wu Changshuo. 

Yu Dayong, deputy manager of Holly's Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Department, stated that Chinese artworks carry historical, artistic and cultural significance. He hopes to expand the height, depth and range of the collections by sorting out and exploring their academic value. 

Online service for the auction will be available through Holly's auction APP for bidders who can't show up in person.

Meanwhile, Holly's International 2022 Coin Auction will be held from August 2 to 7.