The Art Auction Market Gradually Matures: The "Blue and White Porcelain Bowl with Peaches and Flowers" launched by Beijing Poly Auction this spring was sold for 25.3 million yuan. Beijing Rongbao Auction launched Xu Beihong's work "Loquat" in the spring auction this year.
In the 2011 Spring Auction, the top 10 Chinese art pieces were sold at remarkable prices. Data source: Artron Art Market Monitoring Center as of June 30, 2011.
Looking back on this year’s spring auction market, the “hot” data continues to make people optimistic about the future of the auction market; the attitude of valuing quality over quantity reflects the growing maturity of auction companies; although there are still many unsatisfactory aspects regarding market regulation, the exposure of issues is becoming a catalyst for standardized market development. It is believed that the release of the "Self-discipline Convention for Chinese Cultural Relics and Art Auction Companies" will effectively promote the standardization and professionalization of the domestic art auction market.
The Hot Market Trend:
Sky-high Prices, Frequent Records Breaking, and Numerous "White Gloves"
Since entering the "billion-yuan era" in 2009, China's art market has remained in a "high-temperature state." For this market, breaking records and setting new highs seems to have become commonplace. Nevertheless, the hot trend of the recently concluded 2011 Spring Auction still left people in awe.
One after another sky-high price and record-breaking sale results emerged amidst the incessant hammer sounds during this year's spring auction. The China Guardian Spring Auctions held at the end of May achieved a total transaction volume of 5.323 billion RMB, breaking the single-season record for Chinese art auctions and historically creating four world records - Qi Baishi's "Pine and Cypress Standing Tall with Seal Script Couplet" was sold for 425.5 million RMB, setting a world record for modern Chinese painting auctions; Chen Yifei's "Mountain Wind" was sold for 81.65 million RMB, establishing a world record for Chinese oil painting auctions; the Yuan Dynasty manuscript "Essential Strategies of the Two Han Dynasties in Twelve Volumes" was sold for 48.3 million RMB, creating a world record for ancient Chinese books; and the "Ming Dynasty Bronze Mirror with Running Beast" was sold for 8.97 million RMB, setting a new record for bronze mirror auctions.
However, just over ten days later, these much-discussed records had already become outdated. In early June, Poly Auctions achieved a transaction volume of 6.13 billion RMB, once again breaking the world record for single-session Chinese art auctions. Even more astonishingly, nearly one hundred records were set in this single session!
Poly Auctions' antiques section realized sales of 1.66 billion RMB, making it the first mainland auction house to achieve the highest global transaction volume for antique treasures. The "Qing Qianlong Gilt-bronze Clock with Revolving Flowers and Water Patterns" was sold for 78.2 million RMB, setting a world auction record for Chinese imperial clocks; the "Modern and Contemporary Chinese Art Evening Sale - Important Paintings by Wu Guanzhong" special session achieved a total transaction volume of 500 million RMB, setting a record for individual artist sessions in modern and contemporary Chinese art auctions, where Wu Guanzhong's "Lion Grove" was sold for 115 million RMB, setting a new record for single-piece works in modern and contemporary Chinese art and also for Wu Guanzhong's personal works; the first-ever jewelry and jadeite auction achieved a total transaction volume of 140 million RMB, setting a domestic record for jewelry auction sessions, with the highest-selling item being a "Natural Jadeite Bead Necklace" sold for 24.725 million RMB, setting a record for jadeite necklaces in Mainland China...
Contrary to the frequent increase in total transaction volumes, many auction companies adopted a strategy of reducing the number of items this spring. "This year, our spring auction adopted a strategy of improving quality while reducing quantity. The total number of items this year is reduced by one quarter compared to last year. I imagine that if we can achieve a transaction volume of 3 to 4 billion RMB, it would be very good," Zhao Xu, executive director of Beijing Poly International Auction Co., Ltd., estimated before the spring auction. However, the hot market allowed the final transaction volume to exceed the estimate by nearly double.
Another astonishing phenomenon in this year's spring auction market is the frequent appearance of "white gloves." Obtaining "white gloves" is the highest honor for an auctioneer, meaning a 100% success rate in the auction.
During the three-day Hannhai Spring Auction, four special sessions - "Qingyun Hall - Fragmented Gold Collection of Modern Chinese Calligraphy and Painting", "Sun Peicang Family Collection of Xu Beihong Oil Paintings", "Belgian Private Collection of Buddhist Sculptures", and "Hannhai Important Calligraphy and Antiquities Night Session" - achieved 100% success rates.
Guardian Spring Auction created five "white gloves" special sessions: "Zhongxing Hall Collection of Paintings", "Qiuzhai Collection of Paintings", "Zhenru Studio Collection of Paintings", "I See Green Hills So Graceful - Five Fine Pieces of Lu Yan Shao from Singapore", and "Gazing Back at a Century - Elegance of Calligraphy and Ink by Political, Literary, and Artistic Celebrities".
Among the 49 special sessions of Poly Spring Auctions, 13 achieved 100% success rates, including "Important Contemporary Chinese Art Night Sale from Baron Ullens Collection", "A Century of Splendor - Xu Bangda Works and Century Collections Night Sale", "Modern and Contemporary Chinese Art Night Sale - Important Paintings by Wu Guanzhong", "Spring Water Autumn Clouds - Overseas Collected Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing Jade", and "Antique Cars".
In addition, Changshi, Rongbao, Huachen, Jiuge, Zhongmao Shengjia, Shaanxi Yongle, and other auction houses all created numerous "white gloves" in this year's spring auction.
Selection of Artworks:
Calligraphy Leading, Famous Artists Becoming Hotspots, Ceramics and Miscellaneous Items Having Prospects
"It is very clear that calligraphy performed best overall. Whether it's ancient or modern calligraphy, high transaction rates and high transaction amounts are common. High-end items almost all sell, mid-range items have seen price increases, and even ordinary items are not low-priced. This is mainly because new capital mostly chooses the calligraphy market," said Dong Guoqiang, general manager of Beijing Changshi, accurately describing calligraphy as the absolute mainstay in this year's spring auction market.
The scarcity and non-renewable nature of ancient paintings determine their high value. Among the top 100 most expensive Chinese artworks in the autumn auction of 2010, 38 were ancient paintings. This year, major auction houses have deployed significant resources in the ancient painting sector. Wang Meng's Yuan Dynasty painting "Moving Home Picture" was sold for 402.5 million RMB at the Poly Spring Auction, becoming the highest-priced ancient Chinese painting sold at this spring's auction market.
Modern and contemporary calligraphy and painting have always been the largest category in mainland auctions and also the best-performing sector in terms of average transactions. The brightest star piece of this year's spring auction comes from this category. Qi Baishi's "Pine and Cypress Standing Tall with Seal Script Couplet" not only refreshed the record for modern Chinese calligraphy and painting auctions but also became the price leader of this season's spring auction market.
Famous artists are popular not only in works by Qi Baishi, Xu Beihong, Zhang Daqian, and others, but also in collectors like Ullens. Currently, famous artist special sessions have become an important form in the auction market. Facts show that after careful organization and arrangement by auction houses, famous artist and collector special sessions indeed attract attention.
Sotheby's "Ullens Collection of Chinese Contemporary Art Special Session" attracted attention this spring. Together with Beijing Poly and Beijing Yongle authorized by Christie's, they also launched the "Ullens Chinese Contemporary Art Special Session". These three special sessions not only achieved almost full sales but also set several world auction records for individual artists.
In addition, with the diversification of auction market highlights, ceramics, jades, rhinoceros horns, scholar objects, purple clay, furniture, and other miscellaneous items have gradually developed into new collection hotspots. The performance of miscellaneous items in this year's spring auction market was particularly eye-catching.
In the "Royal Porcelain Treasures" special session of the China Guardian Spring Auction, Wang Shixiang's old collection - the Tang Dynasty "Dashi Legacy" Fuxi-style guqin, after intense bidding by numerous buyers, was finally sold for a high price of 115 million RMB.
In the Changshi Auction, the 17 exquisite rhinoceros horn carvings from the "Qing Dynasty Rhinoceros Horn Carving Special Session" received strong attention, achieving a transaction amount of 54.5675 million RMB and a 100% success rate.
Market Regulation:
Release of the "Self-discipline Convention for Chinese Cultural Relics and Art Auction Enterprises"
Along with the lively discussions about the achievements of this year's spring auction market, doubts and accusations from various sides have not ceased. Some media pointed out that currently, many auction companies exist with "false appraisals, false reporting of transaction amounts, collusion to set up schemes, money laundering, and bribery and other illegal behaviors."
Regarding this, Li Weidong, secretary-general of the China Auctioneers Association, stated that the Chinese auction industry welcomes supervision from all sectors of society and the media. The entire industry will seriously study and track solutions to problems existing in its development to promote the continuous development of China's auction industry and maintain the hard-won development achievements of the cultural relics and art market. At the same time, he hopes that relevant government departments strengthen supervision and management of the cultural relics and art market, comprehensively govern counterfeit production, fake trading, arrears, and breaches in the appraisal and second-hand goods trading process, and jointly create an honest business environment.
On June 10, the China Auctioneers Association officially released the "Self-discipline Convention for Chinese Cultural Relics and Art Auction Enterprises." This self-regulation convention comprehensively covers prominent issues reflected in current art auction markets. Nearly 60 major cultural relics and art auction enterprises committed to compliance, covering nine-tenths of the current cultural relics and art market share.
This convention specifically addresses recent issues such as "false appraisals," "excessive fees," and misuse of the "no guarantee clause" in the Auction Law, setting specialized measures requiring convention member units to "not charge any fees from consignors before the auction" and "commit to strictly appraising auction items upon acceptance of consignment and agreeing on dispute resolution procedures with consignors. If the buyer raises objections to the purchased item, actively assist the buyer in negotiating with the consignor."
To regulate the market, last July, the first procedure of the Chinese cultural relics and art market, the first industry standard of the Chinese auction industry - the "Cultural Relics and Art Auction Procedures" was officially implemented.
This procedure has not only been unanimously recognized and promoted by insiders and outsiders but also regarded as an important sign that the Chinese auction industry has entered a new era characterized by marketization, legalization, and internationalization.
At the same time, some industry insiders believe that with the development of the market, untrustworthy enterprises will inevitably be eliminated. The foundation of auction company development still lies in standardization and professionalism.
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