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Friday 8 June 2012
Nation’s auction houses take on the big players
For centuries the art world was dominated by establishment
auction firms such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s, but now the mainland has five
in the top 10 by revenue
For centuries the art world was dominated by establishment auction firms such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s, but now the mainland has five in the top 10 by revenue
Agence France-Presse in Beijing 08 June 2012
Until recently, few in the art world had even heard of China’s auction houses. Today, they are among the world’s biggest by revenue, posing a serious challenge to the likes of Sotheby’s and Christie’s.
Though still much smaller in size than their foreign rivals, the mainland’s auction houses now account for five of the world’s top 10 by revenue, according to a recent report by the France-based industry association Conseil des Ventes.
Their rise has been fuelled by wealthy mainland collectors’ vast appetite for art and antiques and aided by regulations that have locked overseas competitors out.
It nevertheless represents an extraordinary turnaround for an industry that has for centuries been dominated by a handful of established European brands. “From 1776, when we were founded, to about five years ago, our main competitor was Sotheby’s. Well, today in Asia, the landscape has changed,” explains Francois Curiel, president of Christie’s Asia. “For the first time in history, local auction houses are doing better than us in a local market.”
The two biggest, Beijing Poly and China Guardian, rank only just behind Christie’s and Sotheby’s, having overtaken more established names such as Bonham’s in just a few years.
Last year, Poly booked sales of 12.1 billion yuan (HK$14.8 billion) - more than the combined revenues of Christie’s and Sotheby’s for the entire Asia region. China Guardian recorded revenues of 11.2 billion yuan, up from 1.8 billion yuan only three years ago. Their success comes as a new breed of art collectors has propelled Beijing, and to a lesser extent Shanghai, to the forefront of the art scene, with Chinese works of art regularly breaking records at auction.
Last year, Qi Bachi and Zhang Daqian, two modern Chinese artists who specialise in ink paintings and calligraphy, overtook Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol as the world’s best-selling artists by auction revenue. A Qi painting, Eagle Standing on Pine Tree, sold for US$57.2 million in May 2011, the highest price fetched by any work of art at auction last year.
“China’s new rich have very little way of spending their money. Art is one of them,” said Wang Yannan, president of China Guardian.
Beijing is now the world’s biggest art market, with 27 per cent of global auction revenues, according to specialist website Art Price.
While Christie’s and Sotheby’s have to limit their presence in Beijing to a sales bureau and previews, several mainland auction houses are expanding overseas. Poly and Guardian have both opened offices abroad to source Chinese art, much of which is in Western collections.
They are courting sellers in Europe and the United States by offering them greater access to mainland buyers than the foreign auction houses operating out of Hong Kong.
“We are facing a lot of competition outside of China. Poly and Guardian have opened offices overseas to source as much artwork as possible, and they picked up very quickly,” said Curiel of Christie’s Asia.
Both mainland houses are also looking to gain a foothold in Hong Kong, attracted by its tax-free status - import tax on works of art reaches up to 25 per cent on the mainland - and its reputation for probity.
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Nation’s auction houses take on the big players
For centuries the art world was dominated by establishment auction firms such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s, but now the mainland has five in the top 10 by revenue
Agence France-Presse in Beijing
08 June 2012
Until recently, few in the art world had even heard of China’s auction houses. Today, they are among the world’s biggest by revenue, posing a serious challenge to the likes of Sotheby’s and Christie’s.
Though still much smaller in size than their foreign rivals, the mainland’s auction houses now account for five of the world’s top 10 by revenue, according to a recent report by the France-based industry association Conseil des Ventes.
Their rise has been fuelled by wealthy mainland collectors’ vast appetite for art and antiques and aided by regulations that have locked overseas competitors out.
It nevertheless represents an extraordinary turnaround for an industry that has for centuries been dominated by a handful of established European brands. “From 1776, when we were founded, to about five years ago, our main competitor was Sotheby’s. Well, today in Asia, the landscape has changed,” explains Francois Curiel, president of Christie’s Asia. “For the first time in history, local auction houses are doing better than us in a local market.”
The two biggest, Beijing Poly and China Guardian, rank only just behind Christie’s and Sotheby’s, having overtaken more established names such as Bonham’s in just a few years.
Last year, Poly booked sales of 12.1 billion yuan (HK$14.8 billion) - more than the combined revenues of Christie’s and Sotheby’s for the entire Asia region. China Guardian recorded revenues of 11.2 billion yuan, up from 1.8 billion yuan only three years ago. Their success comes as a new breed of art collectors has propelled Beijing, and to a lesser extent Shanghai, to the forefront of the art scene, with Chinese works of art regularly breaking records at auction.
Last year, Qi Bachi and Zhang Daqian, two modern Chinese artists who specialise in ink paintings and calligraphy, overtook Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol as the world’s best-selling artists by auction revenue. A Qi painting, Eagle Standing on Pine Tree, sold for US$57.2 million in May 2011, the highest price fetched by any work of art at auction last year.
“China’s new rich have very little way of spending their money. Art is one of them,” said Wang Yannan, president of China Guardian.
Beijing is now the world’s biggest art market, with 27 per cent of global auction revenues, according to specialist website Art Price.
While Christie’s and Sotheby’s have to limit their presence in Beijing to a sales bureau and previews, several mainland auction houses are expanding overseas. Poly and Guardian have both opened offices abroad to source Chinese art, much of which is in Western collections.
They are courting sellers in Europe and the United States by offering them greater access to mainland buyers than the foreign auction houses operating out of Hong Kong.
“We are facing a lot of competition outside of China. Poly and Guardian have opened offices overseas to source as much artwork as possible, and they picked up very quickly,” said Curiel of Christie’s Asia.
Both mainland houses are also looking to gain a foothold in Hong Kong, attracted by its tax-free status - import tax on works of art reaches up to 25 per cent on the mainland - and its reputation for probity.
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