Hundred Million Yuan Auction Items Shrink: Market Enters Adjustment Period (Reporter Liu Mian) On Monday evening, at the Beijing Poly autumn auction site [bulk paintings], Xu Beihong's representative work "Nine States at Peace Enjoying Cultivation" was hammered down after 7 minutes and 20 seconds of bidding, finally reaching a price of 266.8 million yuan, breaking the world record for the auction sale of Xu Beihong's works.
When the auctioneer announced the starting bid of 150 million yuan that evening, a wave of surprise rippled through the audience. After the bidding began, two buyers successively called out bids in increments of 5 million yuan. In just over 2 minutes, the item's price soared to 200 million yuan.
Afterward, these two buyers reduced their bidding increments to 1 million and 2 million yuan respectively, probing each other. When the price reached 230 million yuan, a new bidder entered the fray, directly offering a high price of 232 million yuan. After the auctioneer repeated the price three times with no further bids, the hammer fell on the item at 9:11 PM. Including a 15% auction commission, the actual selling price was 266.8 million yuan.
This price not only broke the world record for the auction sale of Xu Beihong's works but also became the highest-priced Chinese artwork sold this autumn season so far. As of now, including this item, there have been only six items exceeding 100 million yuan in value in this year’s local autumn auctions, whereas during the spring auction this year, 15 pieces crossed the 100 million yuan threshold.
Among the items sold for over 100 million yuan, apart from the Qing Dynasty Qianlong Sixtieth Year (1795) white jade imperial poem seal "Taishang Huangdi" which was sold for 161 million yuan at the ancient relics night auction of Poly Autumn Auction, setting a new world record for imperial seals and white jade auctions, all others were calligraphy and painting works. They include Fu Baoshi's "Chairman Mao Poetry Album" sold for 230 million yuan by Beijing Hanhai; Qi Baishi's "Landscape Album" and Wang Hui's "Tang Poem Intention Painting" sold for 194 million yuan and 126.5 million yuan respectively, leading the prices at China Guardian Autumn Auction; Kuang Shi's "Chongzhen Wanshou Palace Immortal Crane Poem Scroll" sold for 101.2 million yuan; and Xu Beihong's "Nine States at Peace Enjoying Cultivation" sold for 266.8 million yuan at Poly Auction.
Industry insiders analyzed that the reduction in quantity and price of hundred-million-yuan auction items indicates that the art auction market is entering an adjustment period. This can also be seen from the total sales volume. Taking China Guardian as an example, compared to the spring auction where the sales volume was 5 billion yuan with an 80.91% success rate, the autumn auction achieved a sales volume of 3.8 billion yuan with a 66.76% success rate, showing a decline. The success rates of several auction companies such as Beijing Hanhai, Chengxuan, and Huachen also declined this time around.
It is worth noting that paintings took the lead in the autumn auction, and among the five works, three were modern and contemporary paintings.
Why do antiques sell for less than modern and contemporary paintings? Industry insiders analyzed that since the end of last year, a large number of new players have entered the art auction market, with about 40% being new buyers at each auction. Most of them are speculators who differ from collectors and investors in that they seek shorter return periods.
"Some people buy at the beginning of the year and want to sell by the end of the year, expecting a 50% return. This situation does occur, but it is absolutely not the norm," revealed a collector with over 15 years in the auction industry. "It's difficult to handle ancient paintings and antiques, while modern and contemporary art is relatively easier. At least, the names of masters like Qi Baishi and Xu Beihong are familiar, and their work data is easier to find. Due to their popularity, the prices of modern and contemporary artworks have increased significantly."
Industry insiders believe that to maintain the previous astronomical prosperity, a large influx of new players and funds is needed. "But this situation is unrealistic. Overseas, the general buying and selling cycle for art investors is 5 to 10 years, or even longer. Therefore, it is normal for the market to adjust appropriately, and it does not affect the price of masterpieces. For instance, Xu Beihong's work in this auction is the only first-class cultural relic among the author's works currently in private collections, and its price would be impressive whenever it is auctioned."
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