Classic bonsai trees go on sale at Sotheby's Hong Kong

A classic Chinese bonsai trees on sale at Sotheby's Hong Kong

A collection of classic Chinese bonsai trees is going on sale at Sotheby's Hong Kong at an exhibition titled "Living Sculptures: The Art of Bonsai". Some of these special plants date back more than 200 years.

The exhibition features 16 Chinese bonsai trees dating from the late 18th century to 2,000. Their sculptural features reflect the aesthetic vision and skill of an artist, combined with the will of nature.

This collection is from Philip Hui, who has been collecting and cultivating bonsai for over 20 years.

"I like the natural stuff, natural gardens and these trees, they look tremendous to me. The different ways they grow, how they grow, and of course many of them are very old and ancient trees - more than 100, 200 years old. And these types of trees are very hard to find," he said.

The star of the collection is an early 20th century Chinese sweet plum bonsai, which won a gold medal at the Nanjing Bonsai Exhibition.

Hui said that it was difficult to put a figure on bonsai trees, as age and the amount of cultivation all play a part in the value.

"This is an art. So we try to do, you know the trees sometimes want to grow that, and then you think it's not good. To look good that way, we try to trim them and try to make them grow in a way, in my point of view it looks better."

"Living Sculptures: The Art of Bonsai" is on at Sotheby's Hong Kong Gallery from June 17 to 30.