Auction houses Poly Auction and Phillips have announced partnership in 2020

The third and fifth largest auction houses in the world will join their efforts for Hong Kong bidding in November 2020.

This is the second such collaboration of auction houses in the top five auctions in the world. First, back in May, Christie’s and China Guardian decided to hold a joint auction in September this year in Hong Kong.

It is reported that the November 20th Century & Contemporary Art auction will be held in the halls of the JW Marriott Hotel in Hong Kong and will replace the day and evening auction season of both auction houses. In anticipation of and in support of the November bidding, the two houses are planning a major joint information campaign consisting of a series of events in major cities on the mainland China, including Beijing, Shanghai and other cities. The topics, formats and dates of the pre-auction events will be announced in addition.

During the preparation and bidding period, auction houses will not only act as sources of unique lots, but will also unite their logistics networks and marketing channels. Before the start of sales, specialists of both houses will hold regular meetings to monitor the joint project and discuss upcoming plans.

The cooperation between Poly Auction and Phillips implies more mutual openness and more points of contact than the joint project of Christie’s and China Guardian, but some information of both houses will remain confidential to the partner – for example, personal confidential data of clients of each house. Collectors will register to bid at their usual auction house and bid regardless of who specifically offers the lot: if a Poly Auction client buys a job from Phillips, Poly Auction will accept the payment and then hand it over to Phillips and vice versa.

“This partnership marks a new milestone in our development and underscores Phillips’ commitment to further expanding our presence in the important ‘mainland China’ market,” said Edward Dolman, CEO of the Phillips Auction House.