The preview of the 2025 spring auction of Rongbaozhai (Shenzhen) has officially kicked off. The preview is divided into two exhibition areas: Rongbaozhai Space and Garden Pavilion of the Sea World Culture and Art Center. The Garden Pavilion area officially opened on June 10. 13 themed special sessions have made a heavy debut, covering major sections such as Chinese calligraphy and painting, Buddhist art, porcelain and antiques, contemporary design and crafts, and bringing a charity auction of Shenzhen Charity. More than a thousand art treasures have been fully unveiled, bringing an art journey through ancient and modern times to collectors in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and across the country.

In the cultural and artistic ecology of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Rongbaozhai (Shenzhen) Auction has become an important part. Over the past three years, Rongbaozhai (Shenzhen) has not only taken root in tradition and deeply cultivated classic art fields such as Chinese calligraphy and painting, Buddhist art, and porcelain and fine playthings; it has also continuously innovated and created innovative sections such as contemporary design and craftsmanship, and launched more subdivided field special sessions in the 2025 Spring Auction to entertain collectors; it has also actively practiced public welfare and created the "Shenshan 2025 Charity Auction" to give art a warm social value.
 

Rong Bao Zhai (Shenzhen) 2025 Spring Auction
Preview Arrangements
Rongbaozhai, L3-308, Sea World Culture and Art Center, Nanshan District, Shenzhen (Shenzhen)
Exhibition period: May 8th - June 14th
L3 Garden Pavilion, Sea World Culture and Art Center, Nanshan District, Shenzhen
Exhibition period: June 10-June 14

Auction Time
June 14-15

Auction Location
Shenzhen Nanshan District Sea World Culture and Art Center L4-408 Rongbaozhai Shenzhen Auction Hall
 

Special Performance of Famous Artists' Sketches

The "Special Session of Famous Artists' Sketches" has built a miniature universe of literati's interest, gathering exquisite sketches by famous artists such as Fang Chuxiong, Han Meilin, Qi Gong, and Wu Huayuan, interpreting the myriad atmospheres of ink and color in a few feet. It has the elegance of traditional literati paintings and the agility of contemporary artists, laying out poetry in a small space.

Sketches are often the content of the painter's conversation with himself, revealing the painter's artistic interest. The sketches of famous artists launched this time focus on showing the interest and feelings of art. Fang Chuxiong's puppy under the lotus, Han Meilin's sleeping fox, Qi Gong's orchid and bamboo, and Wu Huayuan's autumn mountain thatched cottage are all lively and vivid, showing the artist's contentment. It also allows viewers to touch the aesthetic truth of Chinese calligraphy and painting "to be broad and exquisite" in the mountains and rivers in the palm of their hands and the desk. This special session is not only a continuation of the Chinese literati's tradition of "sketches and grand scenes", but also provides collectors with a new way to appreciate art - a piece of clear ink and half a scroll of leisure, creating a place for the soul to live in the hustle and bustle of the city.

Celebrity Letters

Letters are also called handwritten letters, written letters, and pendants. They are different from large-scale calligraphy and painting works. They evolved from ancient letters. Letters appeared as early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. At that time, letters were written on bamboo slips or wooden pieces (slips). The most developed period of letters was the late Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty. A large number of literati and poets expressed their thoughts and exchanged information in letters.

Unfolding the letter paper, the words are like seeing the face, and the strokes and strokes are expressed in a circle. The plum blossoms are sent by post, the letters are sent by fish, and the time is like a year. Celebrity letters are a unique carrier of both historical documents and artistic value, covering private interactions, contemporary events, academic thoughts, etc. In particular, the writing style of modern and contemporary celebrities is straightforward and natural. The "sketches" created at will often reflect their profound calligraphy attainments and profound learning. This spring auction of celebrity letters collects more than 40 pieces of modern and contemporary calligraphers and painters, Republican politicians, literati and scholars, including Zhang Daqian's letters to Yamada Kimiko and Yang Wanjun's third brother, Du Yuesheng's letters to Gu Zhutong, Qian Zhongshu's letters to Chen Yingnian, etc., which reproduce their thoughts, knowledge and emotional world, and have both artistic and documentary value.
 

Long History - Huang Yongyu's Works

“I don’t have those big ideals. I just want to express what I know. I don’t try for some ‘great meaning’. Nothing. If I write it and my friends like it, I’ll be happy.” It was precisely Huang Yongyu who “didn’t have those big ideals” who created a great life of “a deep river flows from afar, a seagull is like a seagull in heaven and earth”.

As a brand special of Rongbaozhai (Shenzhen), this season's "Long History - Huang Yongyu's Works Special" continues to use artworks to connect the creative trajectory of this "old naughty boy in the painting world". Lotus is the eternal protagonist of Huang Yongyu's art. The lotus in his paintings is neither the lonely and lonely lotus of Bada, nor the elegant and quiet beauty of Song Dynasty, but the wildness and vigor that grew from the lotus pond in Xiangxi in his childhood. "A Seagull in the World" reveals his philosophy of life, which not only alludes to the artist's open-mindedness of wandering for half a lifetime and smiling at the world, but also echoes his free and easy declaration of "the world is his own" - just as he said in his later years: "To live long and live happily, you must spend your time on love and freedom, not regret and hatred."

The elegance of brush and ink: Special session of works by Jao Tsung-i

Mr. Jao Tsung-i's calligraphy and painting art inherits the excellent tradition of Chinese literati calligraphy and painting since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and is full of "literati spirit". He is a rare "scholar-type" calligraphy and painting artist in today's society. His painting subjects cover landscapes, figures, flowers and birds, imitating traditional schools, sketching scenery from all over the world, and creating his own style. In terms of calligraphy, it is rooted in ancient characters, while running and cursive scripts incorporate the bold and unrestrained charm of various schools in the late Ming Dynasty. His official script combines the strengths of Tingzhou, Dongxin, and Wanbai, forming his own style, and he is adept at regular script, cursive script, official script, and seal script.

Art critic Chen Chuanxi believes that in Mr. Jao Tsung-i's paintings related to his academic life, the relationship between his academic direction, research topics and painting themes is reflected in many aspects, so his paintings show the characteristics of diversity of themes. Mr. Jao Tsung-i has gone through the 20th century and is radiant with the spirit of an octogenarian in the new century.

In the collision and exchange of Chinese and Western cultures, Mr. Rao integrated Chinese and Western cultures with his profound Chinese studies and extensive knowledge of foreign cultures. When these were reflected in his paintings, the expression of "this heart has no boundaries, and the east and the west are only a few inches away" was both the basis and achievement of his integration of learning and art.

Overseas Collection

New York Huaigutang Collection and Hong Kong Private Collection

The history of Huaigu Hall can be traced back to fifty years ago. Its owners, Howard and Marian Rogers, graduated from the Department of Art History at the University of California, Berkeley, and were students of Professor Cahill, a famous Chinese art historian in the United States. In the 1970s, Mr. Rogers was a professor of Chinese art at Sophia University in Tokyo, and his wife Marian was a permanent lecturer at the school and a researcher at the Idemitsu Museum of Art in Japan. Taking advantage of the favorable time and location, the couple's collection of Chinese calligraphy and paintings, porcelain and handicrafts increased day by day. Cheng Qi, the owner of Xuanhui Hall and a calligraphy and painting collector living in Japan, became their mentor and named their residence "Huaigu Hall" in Kitakura, a suburb of Tokyo.

In 1983, the Rogers founded the Huaigutang Gallery, dedicated to the acquisition and sale of Asian artworks with aesthetic value, art historical significance and importance. With solid academic foundation and high-quality artworks, Huaigutang quickly became a trusted antique dealer for museums and private collectors around the world. As scholars, collectors and art dealers, the Rogers have worked tirelessly in their more than 50-year career. In addition to entering private collections, the artworks they handled have also settled in more than 80 public and private museums around the world, becoming a legend in the industry.

In 2025, Rongbaozhai (Shenzhen) Auction was fortunate to be commissioned by Huaigutang to select more than 60 pieces (sets) of masterpieces from the 13th to 20th centuries from its collection and launch them in this season's auction.

Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Special

In summer, the mountains are covered with luxuriant trees and beautiful scenery appears from time to time between the mountains and the sea. Painting and calligraphy creation is an important means for scholars to cultivate their character, and appreciating and collecting painting and calligraphy is also an indispensable and elegant activity for scholars and celebrities.

This year's Rong Bao Zhai (Shenzhen) Spring Auction will present more than 200 paintings, ranging from ancient times to the present, from south to north, with diverse themes and forms, such as Chinese calligraphy and painting special sessions of landscapes for lying down, flowers and birds for pleasing the heart, figures for vividness, and calligraphy for nourishing the mind. Each frame and each painting is an example of something special.

This special session includes ancient calligraphy and paintings. The attraction lies in the fact that, firstly, the resources are becoming increasingly scarce, and secondly, they have been appreciated by scholars of all generations. The cultural atmosphere contained in them has been passed down from generation to generation and has become more and more fresh over time. In addition, the calligraphy style of the late Qing Dynasty has shown a trend of "from pasting to stele". This time, a group of calligraphers represented by the late Qing Dynasty Hanlin calligraphers, book collectors, and epigraphers present the real calligraphy ecology of the late Qing Dynasty where pasting and stele studies are intertwined. There are also anonymous works from past dynasties, which are numerous and numerous. Most of them are imitations of famous artists but not attributable to them. There are many situations. Identification and textual research are also a fun part of collecting and playing with paintings.

Since modern times, Chinese painting has entered a historical stage of a hundred schools of thought and the emergence of famous masters. This special session of calligraphy and painting brings together various painting schools in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Lingnan, showing the "let a hundred flowers bloom" with both traditional accumulation and regional humanities. There is also a special topic on contemporary ink painting, which not only reflects the development process of Chinese calligraphy and painting from tradition to modernity, but also shows the artistic state and artistic spirit of calligraphers and painters in the new century.

Shenzhen Charity Auction 2025

Shenzhen Charity 2025 Charity Auction is an innovative public welfare practice jointly initiated by Shenzhen Federation of Literary and Art Circles, Shenzhen Charity Association and Rongbaozhai (Shenzhen) Auction Co., Ltd. The event takes "art + charity" as its core concept, and gathers masterpieces of famous artists for charity auctions. The funds raised will be used specifically for cultural assistance to Shenzhen's counterpart assistance areas and the development of local public welfare and cultural undertakings, empowering society with art and conveying warmth with painting. The co-organizers adhere to the purpose of "using art to convey the truth and doing good", ensuring that each piece of art is accurately transformed from collection, auction to the landing of donations, and building a sustainable development model for art charity. This cross-border event not only builds a bridge between art and charity, but also is committed to nourishing civilization with culture, helping the construction of humanistic spirit in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and letting the light of art illuminate the road of public welfare.

Brahma Enlightenment - Buddhist Artworks Sale

With the birth and spread of Buddhism, Buddhist art has gradually developed. After being introduced into China, Buddhist art has been integrated with local culture, creating richer art forms and deriving new cultural connotations. Exquisite and vivid statues, soul-touching paintings, and wonderful calligraphy, different artistic languages and expressions, not only carry rich historical culture, but also contain the observation of compassion and wisdom, as well as profound philosophical thoughts such as emptiness and existence, self and others. After thousands of years, Buddhist art has become an important part of China's historical and cultural genes, full of the thousand-year foundation and momentum, style and charm of Eastern civilization.

"Brahma Enlightenment - Buddhist Art Special" realizes the convergence of all Dharmas in the same space. There are thangka art with fine outlines and gorgeous colors, solemn and beautiful Buddhist statues, sacred and wise Buddhist instruments, and rigorous and fluent Buddhist calligraphy and painting. We strive to present the diversity of Buddhist art forms and expression methods, which is like the 84,000 Dharma doors, which will eventually establish a connection and imprint the hearts of thousands of sentient beings.

Contemporary Design and Crafts

This special session selects 30 ingenious works that embody oriental aesthetics, using objects as a medium to communicate between traditional context and contemporary spirit. The contemporary design and craft special session brings together the creative forces of Chinese contemporary artists, designers and inheritors of intangible cultural heritage, presenting a variety of categories such as ceramics, metal art, jewelry, and brocade. The works not only show the rebirth of porcelain after thousands of years of kiln fire, but also the cross-border collision of AI design and traditional crafts; there are embroidery that uses needles as pens to continue the artistic conception of ink and wash, and designers re-create classic objects. Each lot breaks through the boundaries of craftsmanship and constructs contemporary life aesthetics in material innovation, functional translation and cultural expression.

We invite you to join us in this art feast where traditional skills are interwoven with contemporary thinking, and to collect the ingenuity marks of this era.

This auction of porcelain and antiques, based on the classic special session of "Investigating Things and Enriching Beauty", carefully planned four special sessions, covering important pieces from Ming and Qing official kilns, antiques, Longquan celadon and Dehua white porcelain, etc. The special sessions are based on academic research, and through authoritative test reports and a rich collection reference system, they present collectors with a collection feast that has both artistic value and historical depth.
 

Xiaguan - Antiques and Collectibles Special

This special session showcases a treasure chest of the life aesthetics of literati and scholars, covering a variety of categories such as porcelain, bronze furnaces, bamboo carvings, etc., especially featuring pairs of handed-down objects, showing the philosophical thinking of "objects carry the message" in ancient Chinese creation art.

Green glaze treasures from Longquan kiln

Longquan Kiln is a famous celadon kiln system in ancient China. It was first fired in the Three Kingdoms and Jin Dynasty, reached its peak in the Song and Yuan Dynasties, and continued to the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It was centered in Longquan, Zhejiang. Its celadon is famous for its "powder green" and "plum green" glaze colors. The glaze layer is as rich and smooth as jade, representing the pinnacle of Chinese celadon art. During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, it was exported to Asia, Africa and Europe, and was praised by the French as "Cherat". Longquan Kiln not only reflects the superb level of Chinese porcelain making technology, but also witnesses the cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries. It has an important position in the history of world ceramics. This auction has collected more than 30 Longquan fine products of various styles for collectors to choose from.

Chinese White - 500 Years of Dehua

Dehua Kiln is a famous white porcelain kiln in ancient China. It is located in Dehua, Fujian. It was first fired in the Song Dynasty and reached its peak in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is world-famous for its "Blanc de Chine". Its white porcelain body is delicate and its glaze is as warm as fat. Dehua Kiln products are exported in large quantities and have a profound impact on European ceramic art. It is a cultural envoy of the Maritime Silk Road. The works of Dehua Kiln in this auction are selected from the early and middle Ming Dynasty to the modern era, spanning 500 years, allowing collectors to experience the artistic changes of Dehua porcelain in 500 years.

Studying Things and Enlightening the Beauty - Special Sale of Porcelains from Past Dynasties

The exhibition carefully sorted out typical porcelains from the Ming and Qing dynasties and earlier periods, including both regular and rigorous official kiln wares and representative works from folk kilns. The items are presented in chronological order, so collectors can clearly feel the evolution of porcelain making techniques and decorative styles in different periods. What is particularly rare is that most of the items are accompanied by thermoluminescence test reports, which are accurate in dating and can be called "standard instruments" for collection research and learning comparison.

Rong Bao Zhai (Shenzhen) 2025 Spring Auction
Auction Schedule

June 14
10:30-13:00 Special performance of famous artists’ sketches
14:00-14:30 Special Session of Celebrity Letters
Time goes on, the history is long-lasting - Huang Yongyu's works
Time goes on, the elegance of ink and brush: a special session of Jao Tsung-I’s works
Time extension Overseas collection: New York Huaigutang Collection and Hong Kong Private Collection
Time postponed Chinese calligraphy and painting special session
Time postponed Shenzhen Charity 2025 charity auction

June 15
10:30-11:30 Brahma Enlightenment - Buddhist Artworks
Time extension Contemporary Design and Crafts Special
14:00-16:00 Xiaguan - Antiques and Collectibles Special Session
Time goes by, and the green glaze of Longquan Kiln is a treasure
Time goes on: Chinese White: 500 Years of Dehua Kiln
Time goes on, the beauty of things is revealed - Special session of porcelain from past dynasties

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