Sought-after names

Vincent Wu, founder and senior art adviser of Curator Style, notes that Branches by Sanyu at Sotheby's is a must-see piece this season. "It is an autobiographical masterpiece by the artist, and one of his largest flower paintings, depicting a blooming spring in the twilight of (his) life."

Gold Infinity Nets is also not to be missed, being the largest Yayoi Kusama painting of its kind (gold nets on a black background) ever to go under the hammer. "As Kusama's large-scale exhibition opens at M+ in November, the auction results of these artworks will become an important indicator of the market," notes Wu. Leo Xu, senior director at David Zwirner, meanwhile, says that Bridget Riley is an artist to keep an eye on.

At Bonhams' Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art sale on Nov 30 in Hong Kong, the star lot is a magnificent and rare Qianlong underglaze-blue and copper-red, turquoise-glazed "dragon" bianhu (moonflask), which carries an estimate of up to HK$25 million. "But beyond that there are a lot of buyers interested in collecting who can't afford the figures they see in headlines," says Hu. "Asia's economy is still relatively strong in the world, so collectors are more confident about selling their best items in Hong Kong which still stands as the headquarters of Asia's auction market."