Larasati kicked off her boutique 2005 sale in Singapore on Saturday, 9 April at the Marriott Hotel.

Over 80% of the 96 lots offered found buyers, giving total sales of S$ 2.1 million. Close to 250 people witnessed the auction, a significant increase in number as compared to that of October 2004 attendance when some 200 art enthusiasts turned up at the event.

The hottest highlight of the sale was the cover lot (47) an exceptional 1953, oil on canvas, by Affandi, depicting a boy on a wooden rocking horse. The lot was first offered at S$ 80,000 and a few minutes later fetched S$ 434,600 (including premium), making it the most expensive “Boy” by Affandi to date.

The other highlights included Le Mayeur’s “Temple Festival” (lot 34), Lee Man Fong’s “Riding a Water Buffalo” (lot 20), and Yue Minjun’s “Kites” (lot 63), which were sold for S$ 210,600, S$ 117,000, and S$ 117,000 respectively.

It was also a day of recognition for Singapore pioneer artists when 2 important pieces by Liu Kang (lot 79) and Chen Wen Hsi (lot 83) fetched respectable prices of S$ 37,440 and S$ 64,350.

The contemporary section of the sale produced some surprises too. Among others were works by Indonesia’s Popo Iskandar (lot 40) and Thailand’s young artist, Bencharong (lot 51) that raked in S$ 52,650 and S$ 15,210 respectively – five times higher than their mid estimates.