Auction closes on high note

This past Sunday afternoon, while the rest of Phnom Penh’s residents hid from the sweltering heat, a steady stream of cars and motos made their way down a long accces road, flanked by green lawn and tennis courts. Alighting at the Sofitel Phokeetra on the Tonle Bassac river, an assortment of artists, art collectors and the curious gathered for a Cambodian first: the sale of works by the country’s pre-eminent artists, conducted by the 250 year-old British auction house Christie’s. Surrounding the 350 guests seated in the luxury hotel’s grand ballroom were 40 pieces by more than 20 Cambodian artists, with everything from papier mache sculptures of Buddhist iconography to acrylic and metal renderings of colonial-era architecture donated for the auction. Christie’s did not take a fee for conducting the day’s proceedings; proceeds of the art sales will be used to fund future projects organised by the NGO Cambodian Living Arts. Within an hour of the auctioneer’s ascent to the podium, all 40 lots had been scooped up by a handful of bidders, notwithstanding some slight technical difficulties. More than $40,000 was raised for Cambodian Living Arts in the process. …

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