Hong Kong – A significant work of art cherished by the last Emperor of Vietnam Bao Dai is emerging onto the market 70 years after it was granted by him as a personal gift. Golden Sunset over Halong Bay by Pham Hau is a six-panelled lacquer screen depicting the sublime landscape of Halong Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Northeast Vietnam. This marks the very first time a documented painting from the Emperor's personal collection is to be offered at auction. The work, which has never been seen in public since it was created, will be presented at Bonhams Hong Kong Southeast Asian Modern and Contemporary Art sale on 27 November 2021, carrying an estimate of HK$2,800,000–3,800,000.

In 1951, Pulitzer Prize-winning American Journalist Edgar Ansel Mowrer (1892-1977), who was best known for his writing on international events, paid his visit to Vietnam. His trip culminated in an appointment with Bao Dai in Da Lat. It was at this special occasion that the current painting was granted as a gift to Mowrer. It is known that Bao Dai had ordered paintings and screens from the artist, both for his personal collection and as official gifts to statesmen and politicians. Mowrer brought the six-panel painting back to his family home in New Hampshire, where it was hung and admired for decades before passing down by descent to the present owner. The family has also kept a calling card from Emperor Bao, which will be part of the lot on offer.

Celebrated as one of the finest Vietnamese lacquer masters, Pham Hau was a pioneer, contributing to the birth of Vietnamese lacquer art, which has grown to become a principal fine art medium in the country. In creating Golden Sunset Over Halong Bay at the peak of his career, Pham displays utmost technical virtuosity. The screen bears all the hallmarks of a Pham Hau masterpiece: original perspectives, poetic compositions, intricate details, and excellent lacquer techniques. They allow viewers to submerge into the painting, breathing in the panoramic view of the extraordinary sunset from the top of a mountain in Halong Bay. The seascape is expansive without a real focal point. Instead, like in most Pham Hau paintings, we explore the beauty of nature in layers.

According to Pham Hau's family, he only executed very few works of Halong Bay. This is the second one known to date, but it is on a far superior scale and of much better quality than the first, rendered in such mesmerising splendour as gold and red – the official colours of the royal family and the court.

Bernadette Rankine, Bonhams Southeast Asia Director, commented: "This exquisite lacquer screen by Pham Hau is a significant discovery, not only for its royal provenance but also for its unique composition, supreme workmanship and rarity. Above all, this is neither an artisanal nor a mechanised work, but one which was done by the very hand of the artist himself. Golden Sunset over Halong Bay is a true masterpiece in that it both enlightens and expands the artist's oeuvre."

Other highlights of the sale include:
• Mai Trung Thu (1906-1980), Lady playing a Nguyet Cam. 1943. Estimate: HK$1,200,000-2,200,000.
• Affandi (1907-1990), Fishing Boats. 1977. Estimate: HK$400,000-600,000.
• Fan Chang Tien (1907-1987), Wild Hibiscus and Eight Fish. 1984. Estimate: HK$120,000-200,000.