EVER WISHED YOU COULD pop into a store and casually walk out with some Renaissance-era Italian sketches, a vintage Hermès Kelly bag, or perhaps some Jurassic-era fossils? You can now do exactly that in Hong Kong, where auction house Sotheby’s has just opened a bold new concept at the luxury Landmark Chater building.
At the intersection of art, luxury, and culture, the Sotheby’s Maison is a state-of-the-art, 2,230-square-meter space that puts rare items in a surprising retail concept. The collection focuses on one-of-a-kind items—the type you’d see at auctions – that span 20 categories and 80 million years—with prices ranging between HK$5,000 and HK$50 million.
Sotheby’s Maison at Landmark Chater Salon on 1F Portal to Sotheby’s Maison (left) and Ice Two Masterpieces on Loan from the Long Museum (right) Sotheby’s Maison at Landmark Chater Salon on 1F Sotheby’s Maison at Landmark Chater Salon on 1F
Within 30 minutes, I spot a series of original Andy Warhol prints (HK$170,000 and sold within hours of the Maison’s official opening), a first edition of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novel “The Golden Gun,” and a full-sized Gryposaurus skeleton from Montana that’s 74 million years old and retailing for a casual HK$14.63 million. The real crowd pleaser, though, was the original LA Lakers jersey worn by Kobe Bryant in the NBA’s 2008 Western Conference Finals bearing his original signature. Everyone stopped to gawk over this piece of sporting history.
The exclusive pieces are displayed across several curated Salons, each featuring a museum-like setting of whitewashed walls and glass frontage. However, a touch of whimsy comes from the eclectic musical playlists specially created for the spaces. It’s somewhat disconcerting to look at authentic samurai armour and Banksy’s iconic “Girl Without Balloon” artwork while listening to the somber lyrics and heavy bass line of Radiohead’s “Creep,” but somehow, it works.
Sotheby’s Maison at Landmark Chater Ground Floor Bodhi Masterpieces of Monumental Buddhist Art
A different experience awaits on the Maison’s ground floor. For this, Rotterdam-based architecture firm MVRDV’s brief was a quote from Song Dynasty poet Su Shi: “The stone is patterned and ugly. From this one word ‘ugly’ comes a thousand shapes and ten thousand forms.” This manifests in “The Portal,” a heavily sculpted and textured staircase that gives the impression of walking through a rock formation and leads to the “Grotto,” the “Pantheon,” and the “Sanctum.” This trio of dramatic display spaces—which will hold special showcases, performances, and auction exhibitions—have been meticulously crafted with shades of charcoal and dark burgundy, and alternating high and low ceilings that almost mimic natural caves.
For most people, auctions—and the unique pieces that go under the hammer—are a distant concept. They probably wouldn’t attend one and are unlikely to buy pieces of such provenance. The Sotheby’s Maison invites everyone to imagine themselves as aesthetes and collectors by offering the chance not just to see rare items up close but to own them… if their bank account allows.
Images courtesy of Sotheby’s Maison.
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Gayatri Bhaumik is a professional writer and communicator, and an avid traveller. Always ready for her next adventure, Gayatri took her first flight at 10 days old and hasn’t looked back since. After long stints in Bangkok, Melbourne and London, she is now based in Hong Kong. Gayatri currently contributes travel and lifestyles stories to a range of publications including Travel + Leisure SEA, ECHELON, SPH Magazines, Forbes Travel Guide, Luxe City Guides, Elite Traveler, Hong Kong Madame, Chika Magazine, Destination Deluxe, and The Loop HK.
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