Collectors bid it up for Malaysian artworks

Teves waves her gavel as she takes bids for a 1969 untitled acrylic on board by Cheong Laitong, sold for a premium of RM70,000.

IT MAY have been Sabahan artist Awang Damit Ahmad’s work from the 1988 Essence of Culture series that sold the highest at the Henry Butcher Malaysian and Southeast Asian Art Auction, but it was an untitled, rainbow-hued 1987 acrylic on canvas by Khalil Ibrahim that held the audience’s breath.

With a starting price of RM45,000, the piece was worth RM100,000 when the hammer struck, overshooting its estimated value range by RM25,000.