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SHIN-EI ANIMATION, Doraemon, Nobita and Shizuka on the Time Machine Animation Cel, circa 1970s, acrylic on cel, 28.5 × 36 cm. Courtesy Sotheby’s Hong Kong.
Sotheby’s Hong Kong, which has been riding on the success of its Contemporary Art Online sale in April, has put legendary Japanese animated films in the spotlight with the series Contemporary Showcase: Manga. The virtual sale, which opens tomorrow, comprises the largest assemblage of manga ever to be presented for auction in the city.
The 59 lots sale range in estimates from USD 2,580–3,870 for a 2018 pencil-on-paper drawing of Totoro, a popular character from Studio Ghibli’s anime film My Neighbor Totoro (1988), signed by animator Yoshiharu Sato, to USD 45,140–70,950 for an acrylic, pastel, and pen-on-cardboard original and calendar cover set titled Astro Boy and Flying Horse (1978). For the top lot, the original, signed by the manga creator Osamu Tezuka, depicts the iconic android hero riding on a winged white horse, which is mirrored in the calendar cover produced in the same year. Other highlights include an original watercolor drawing from the 1970s of the mythical bird from the manga series Phoenix (1954–86) by Tezuka for USD 25,800 to USD 51,600, as well as an unsigned 1985–86 drawing of Sheeta, the heroine of Studio Ghibli’s 1986 film Castle in the Sky, expected to fetch USD 10,320 to 12,900.
Alongside the auction, Sotheby’s Hong Kong has mounted 93 unique drawings and original Animation Celluloid Pictures (cel-ga) from well-known anime production houses such as Studio Ghibli and Toei Animation in a selling exhibition, “Manga,” at its Hong Kong gallery. Highlights for the show include Astro Boy Animation Cel (1960s) by Mushi Production and Super Saiyan Goku Animation Cel (1989–1996) from Dragon Ball Z by Toei Animation, in addition to works from other crowd-pleasing series such as Pokemon and Anpanman.
This is not the first time that Sotheby’s Hong Kong has staged a cartoon-themed sale. In August 2014, the Sotheby’s Hong Kong Gallery presented a selling exhibition of “Old Master Q: What The @#$% Is Going On?” showcasing original works by the iconic Hong Kong comic creator Alfonso Wong. The sold-out show resulted in “Old Master Q 2.0” in 2018, with the sequel sale presented at Sotheby’s Hong Kong’s SI2 Gallery featuring Wong’s early color covers and comic strips, alongside canvas works by his son Joseph Wong.
Ashlyn Chak is an editorial intern of ArtAsiaPacific.
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