Chinese Auction Houses Go Global - Asia Business News - CNBC
The international art auction world has long been dominated by Sotheby’s and Christie’s which have more than 500 years of history between them. But recent Hong Kong auctions have heralded the emergence of two new rivals – from China.
Detail, 18th C. Imperial Qianlong Court Fan
Poly International Auction, the world’s third-largest auction house by sales, held its first international auction in Hong Kong over the weekend. The Beijing-based subsidiary of a Chinese defense company said its two-day sale raised HKD$520 million ($67 million). The top bids includes a 20th Century painting of two tibetan women by Chinese painter Zhang Daqian, which fetched HK$48.3 million.
Last month, China Guardian, the world’s fourth largest auction house, also held its first sale outside the mainland, in Hong Kong. Headed by Wang Yannan, daughter of former Chinese leader Zhao Ziyang, Guardian achieved $59 million in sales, 2.5 times higher than the pre-sale estimate, according to ArtTactic, an art market research company.
Between them, Poly and Guardian have only 26 years of history – a lot of it during a bull market for Chinese art which according to some estimates recently catapulted China into first place as the world’s largest art market.
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