Kazuo Okada's Museum Sells HK$688M Art Collection Amid Legal Troubles
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Last week, Sotheby's achieved a remarkable sale in Hong Kong, generating HK$688 million, equivalent to approximately $88 million, from 125 works previously housed in Japan's Okada Museum of Art. This auction, conducted as a single-owner sale during the Asian Art sales series, featured notable pieces including Kitagawa Utamaro's panoramic ukiyo-e masterpiece, Fukagawa in Snow, which sold for HK$55,275,000, or about $7.1 million, exceeding its high estimate of HK$8 million after an intense eight-minute bidding war with over 30 bids.
Another highlight was Katsushika Hokusai's iconic Under the Wave off Kanagawa, known as The Great Wave, which fetched HK$21,725,000, surpassing its HK$8 million high estimate, following a competitive eight-minute battle involving more than 20 bids.
The auction saw 19 lots surpass the $10 million mark, showcasing strong demand for Asian art. The liquidation of the Okada Museum's collection comes amid legal troubles for its founder, billionaire Kazuo Okada, who faces a legal bill of roughly $50 million.
Global art advisory firm Gurr Johns managed the deaccessioning process over two years, handling all legal and tax requirements. This sale, part of a bankruptcy case in Hong Kong, was prompted by Okada's financial complications after meeting a litigator in Miami who facilitated the appraisal of the museum's collection.
The report indicates that the collection's valuation was critical for legal and commercial decision-making, leading to a bespoke consignment structure. Noteworthy sales included a late Shang dynasty vessel, which sold for HK$38,805,000, nearly ten times its high estimate, and a celadon-glazed lotus-mouth bottle vase from the Yongzheng period, which soared to HK$30,875,000, nearly doubling its estimate.
The Okada Museum of Art, founded by Kazuo Okada in 2013, was forced to sell these masterworks to address financial obligations, highlighting the intersection of wealth, legal issues, and the art market in the lives of the ultra-rich.