Biography
Nicolas Chow is Chairman of Sotheby's Asia and Worldwide Head of Asian Art. He first joined Sotheby’s in 1999 and has played a pivotal role in leading the Chinese art market in Asia since 2003. In 2006, he was appointed International Head and Chairman of the Chinese Works of Art Department and has since orchestrated many successful auctions across Sotheby’s four major salerooms, namely Hong Kong, London, New York and Paris. Under his leadership, Sotheby’s has consistently remained at the helm of the Chinese Works of Art market, and has led the Chinese works of art market for 18 of the past 20 years and the overall Asian art market in Asia for the past 15 consecutive years.
Nicolas has been the mastermind behind many record-breaking sales. Notable examples include a rare Ru Guanyao brush washer from Northern Song Dynasty, which fetched HK$290 million and set the world record for Chinese Ceramics (2017); as well as the Meiyintang ‘Chicken Cup’, which sold for HK$280 million to Shanghai collector Liu Yiqian, establishing a world record for Chinese Porcelain (2014). Over the years, Nicolas has introduced numerous prominent collections to the market, including Chinese Art through the Eye of Sakamoto Gorō (2013–25) and The Meiyintang Collection Parts I to V (2011–14), and A Journey Through China's History. The Dr Wou Kiuan Collection (2023–24).
Nicolas is also the key figure behind the curated exhibitions at Sotheby’s Maison in Hong Kong, including 2025’s Corpus – Three Millenia of the Human Body, which explored enduring themes of beauty, love, life and death through the body as subject in sculpture, with masterpieces of modern and contemporary art, African art and ancient art.
Read Less