Paintings and other art objects once displayed in elegant offices were snapped up this weekend in Thailand at an auction of assets of collapsed financial firms, Thai media reported Sunday.
The three-day auction of more than 1,000 items, which ended Sunday, was expected to bring in more than an initial estimate of 30 million baht (dlrs 697,000).
The paintings, sculptures and other art-related objects were seized by Thailand's Financial Restructuring Authority, a government agency set up to liquidate the assets of 56 finance companies which were shut down last year.
The closings were required by the International Monetary Fund as part of its dlrs 17.2 billion bailout program for the depressed Thai economy. The proceeds of the auction will go to pay the debts of the failed companies.
``The going prices have been very high, much higher than I expected,'' an art gallery owner, Hongjorn Samae-ngamjaroen, was quoted as saying by the Bangkok Post.
An untitled painting of a lotus pond by the late Thawee Nandakwang was sold for 2.8 million baht (dlrs 65,000), way above its starting bid of 400,000 baht (dlrs 9,300).
Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai donated two of his sketches to the auction, which was handled by Christies, the British auction house. It was held at Bangkok's Queen Sirikit Natoinal Convention Center.