Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong art dealer Robert Chang sold a Qing Dynasty porcelain bowl, the pride of his collection, for a record HK$151.3 million ($19.5 million) at Christie's International's Hong Kong auction. The buyer was his sister.

Alice Cheng, a collector and member of the Chinese Communist Party's top advisory body, paid more than twice Christie's high- end estimate of HK$60 million, including commission, the company said. The bowl bears the mark of Emperor Qianlong (1736-1795) and shows two swallows in flight beside a flowering apricot tree. It was the centerpiece of 20 ceramics offered by Chang, who bought the item in 1985 from another dealer for HK$1.1 million.

``Well, that means the bowl isn't leaving the Chang family after all,'' said Chang, 80, by telephone after the auction. ``Why didn't I sell privately to her? I couldn't sell to my own people, could I? It wouldn't be fair. It's fairer to bring it to the market and let everyone compete.''

He declined to talk about his ties with his sister, who is also managing director of Hong Kong-based Taching Petroleum Co. a fuel seller.

``I don't want to speak about the auction,'' said Cheng by phone after the sale.

It's not the first time Cheng has raised the bar for Chinese ceramics. In May 2002, she paid HK$41.5 million for a famille-rose enameled vase from the reign of Emperor Yongzheng (1723-1735) at a Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong, a record at the time for a Qing ceramic. She donated it to the Shanghai Museum the following year, according to state-run newspaper China Daily.

`Not Cheap'

Chang's bowl drew fierce competition from phone and saleroom buyers, with bids rising by HK$5 million every few seconds in a packed room of about 600 gallery owners, bidders and spectators. Christie's earned HK$16.3 million in commission on the sale.

``We thought it was a fair price for the piece -- definitely not cheap,'' said London-based Daniel Eskenazi, 37, whose Eskenazi Ltd. art dealership bought two of Chang's pieces, including a celadon glazed double-gourd vase, also bearing Emperor Qianlong's mark, for HK$13 million before commission. ``We are getting more competition from Chinese bidders.''

Demand for porcelain from China's Qing (1644-1911) and Ming (1368-1644) dynasties has driven pieces to records at auctions worldwide. In October 2005, Hong Kong art dealer William Chak paid HK$115.5 million for a 16.5-centimeter Qing vase, according to China Daily.

Christie's five-day auction began on Nov. 26, offering a total of 2,502 paintings, ceramics, gems and watches. On the first day, the company sold a 1924 Xu Beihong painting ``Slave and Lion'' for HK$53.9 million, a record for a Chinese oil. Zhang Xiaogang's 1993 ``Tiananmen Square'' went for HK$18 million, including commission, six times the top estimate.

Shanghai Shopping

``We are scouting for pieces,'' said Xu Yongxiang, Shanghai Museum's buyer, who was at the auction. ``If we spot pieces that we feel will plug a gap in our collection, we will ask the government for money to buy them.''

In an Aug. 22 interview, Chang said he didn't want his bowl to end up in a museum.

``My life as a collector has more or less come to an end,'' he said. ``One has to start and end somewhere. It's someone else's turn to enjoy my collection.'' He declined to say why he wasn't leaving the ceramics to his daughter.

The Christie's auctions this week may take a combined HK$1.1 billion, the company estimated. Sotheby's four-day sale on Oct. 6-9 raised HK$1.07 billion.

To contact the reporters for this story: Le-Min Lim in Hong Kong at lmlim@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 28, 2006 05:10 EST