“The market for Chinese art is booming”, declares Ben Kong, Christies China
Representative. “Records have fallen on a regular basis over the past four
years.”
The current trend of repatriation of Chinese art is not unexpected,” says Henry
Howard-Sneyd, Managing Director of Sotheby's Asia. “As a country's confidence
grows, the desire of its indigenous people is to collect art from their own
culture. This happened with Japan in the sixties and seventies and South Korea
in the early nineties.”
“Art has played an important role in the expansion of Chinese culture. It is one
of the best ambassadors China has. People with little knowledge of China are
able to appreciate the cultural richness of the country through its art
displayed in museums around the world. It is very widely respected and
admired,” explains Howard-Sneyd. “Once the rich have begun to deal with the
basics, their next question is to think of other uses to put their money to.”
The most expensive piece of Chinese art sold at public auction went for US$9.1
million in 2001 by Christies in New York. The question remains, however, as to
why this is so much less than the records for Western art, the world record of
which is Picasso's Garcon à la Pipe, which went for US$104 million last year.
As the dominant cultural force in Asia, Chinese art makes an appealing
investment.
Nine pieces of Chinese art have now fetched more than 5 million at public
auction, including one purchased last year for US$5.8 million by Hong Kong
businesswoman Alice Cheng, who promptly donated it to the Shanghai Museum.
The flip side of these price hikes is that with both collectors and investors
flocking to the market, there is a danger it will overheat as happened in Japan
in the nineties. There are tax advantages too to investing into art, which is
further stimulating the market.
For most of China's top entrepreneurs still, fine art investments may still be a
world away from that in which they were brought up. As their confidence grows,
expect to see the record for Chinese art begin to creep up towards that
Picasso painting.
Most Valuable Chinese Art sold at Public Auction
Rank
|
Auction price (US$m)
|
Name
|
Auction date
|
Auction house
|
Auction location
|
1
|
9.2
|
Bronze Ritual Wine Jar, Fanglei,
(late Shang/early Western Zhou)
|
2001
|
Christies
|
New York
|
2
|
6.1
|
Early ceramics figures, Sancai
glazed Fereghan Horse (Tang)
|
1989
|
Sotheby's
|
London
|
3
|
5.8
|
Blue and White 'Pilgrim' Flask
from the Morrill Collection (Yuan)
|
2003
|
Doyle
|
New York
|
4
|
5.7
|
Hongwu Underglaze copper-red
dish (Ming)
|
2004
|
Bonhams & Butterfields
|
San Francisco
|
5
|
5.6
|
Wucai Jiajing Fish jar (Ming)
|
2000
|
Sotheby's
|
Hong Kong
|
6
|
5.3
|
Qianlong Ruby-ground Famille-rose
vase (Qing)
|
2004
|
Sotheby's
|
Hong Kong
|
7
|
5.3
|
Blue and white ‘Dragon'
brushwasher (early Ming)
|
2004
|
Christies
|
Hong Kong
|
8
|
5.3
|
Yongzheng, Famille-rose 'Peach'
vase (Qing)
|
2002
|
Sotheby's
|
Hong Kong
|
9
|
4.3
|
Famille-rose 'Butterfly' vase,
Qianlong seal mark (Qing, 1736-1795)
|
2000
|
Christies
|
Hong Kong
|
10
|
4.2
|
Imperial Famille-rose ‘Prunus'
Dish, Yongzheng blue enamel four-character mark within a double square (Qing,
1723-1735)
|
2002
|
Christies
|
Hong Kong
|
11
|
4.0
|
Imperial embroidered silk Thanka,
Yongle six-character presentation mark (Ming, 1403-1425)
|
2002
|
Christies
|
Hong Kong
|
Source: Christies, Sotheby's [and China Guardian]
Most Valuable Chinese Art sold at Public Auction
|
Auction price (US$)
|
Name
|
Auction year
|
Auction house
|
1
|
9,246,000
|
Bronze Ritual Wine Jar, Fanglei, (late Shang/early
Western Zhou)
|
2001
|
Christies
|
2
|
8,379,686
|
Lu Yanshao Painting
|
2004
|
Beijing Hanhai
|
3
|
6,384,523
|
Oracle bone (Qing)
|
2004
|
Shanghai Chongyuan
|
4
|
6,133,600
|
Early ceramics figures, Sancai glazed Fereghan Horse
(Tang)
|
1989
|
Sotheby's
|
5
|
5,831,500
|
Blue and White 'Pilgrim' Flask from the Morrill
Collection (Yuan)
|
2003
|
Doyle
|
6
|
5,726,250
|
Hongwu Underglaze copper-red dish (Ming)
|
2004
|
Bonhams & Butterfields
|
7
|
5,637,728
|
Wucai Jiajing Fish jar (Ming)
|
2000
|
Sotheby's
|
8
|
5,586,458
|
Painting by Xian Yushu (Yuan)
|
2004
|
Beijing Hanhai
|
9
|
5,333,833
|
Qianlong Ruby-ground Famille-rose vase (Qing)
|
2004
|
Sotheby's
|
10
|
5,322,688
|
Blue and white ‘Dragon' brushwasher (early Ming)
|
2004
|
Christies
|
11
|
5,320,988
|
Yongzheng, Famille-rose 'Peach' vase (Qing)
|
2002
|
Sotheby's
|
12
|
4,788,392
|
Painting by Lu Yuan painting from 1696 (Qing)
|
2004
|
Shenyang Zone Auctions
|
13
|
4,310,000
|
18th century silk weaving (Qing)
|
2004
|
G uardian
|
14
|
4,295,850
|
Famille-rose 'Butterfly' vase, Qianlong seal mark
(Qing, 1736-1795)
|
2000
|
Christies
|
15
|
4,228,133
|
Imperial Famille-rose ‘Prunus' Dish, Yongzheng blue
enamel four-character mark within a double square (Qing, 1723-1735)
|
2002
|
Christies
|
16
|
4,013,633
|
Imperial embroidered silk Thanka, Yongle six-character
presentation mark (Ming, 1403-1425)
|
2002
|
Christies
|
Source: Christies, Sotheby's and China Artron
Upcoming Spring Auctions
| Christie's
|
Hong Kong, |
May 27 to June 1 |
| Sotheby's
|
Hong Kong |
May 1-2 |
| China Guardian |
Beijing |
May 13-15
|
| Beijing Hanhai |
Beijing |
June 15 |
| Shanghai Chongyuan |
Shanghai |
April 18
|
