Chinese masterpiece Put Down Your Whip by Xu Beihong set a new world record at the Sotheby's spring sales
	Portrait of the Artist and His Friends by contemporary artist Yue Minjun was sold by Christie's for five times above the pre-sale estimate
	This Imperial cloisonne enamel jar sold at the Bonhams auction, greatly exceeding its pre-sale estimate
	Colin Sheaf, Chairman of Bonhams Asia, describes Hong Kong as the world's most exciting and competitive centre for selling classic Chinese art

For fine art lovers around the world, it's becoming a case of Chinese art at any price.

Prestigious global auction houses Christie's and Sotheby's are reporting record after record being set at their twice-yearly sales in Hong Kong, and this year a third contender, British auctioneers Bonhams, has arrived to tap the booming market.

The current explosion of prices for Asian art is a far cry from 10 years ago, when there was little interest. However, a decade of economic growth in China has delivered a legion of wealthy collectors seeking to buy art both for enjoyment and investment.

"Nothing in the global art market has been more dramatic in the past decade than the emergence of new art buyers in Asia," says Colin Sheaf, Chairman of Bonhams Asia after the February opening of Bonhams Hong Kong.

Anthony Lin, an independent art adviser and former Chairman of Christie's Asia, agrees. "This is a market that, 10 years ago, nobody believed where it would be today," he told the Hong Kong Standard.
 
Major art hub

Hong Kong's international reputation and free port status have helped propel the city as jewel in the crown of Asia's art scene. Hong Kong has in recent years become a major world hub for top-end Chinese art, along with London and New York.

At its spring sales in April, Sotheby's sold the 1939 Chinese masterpiece Put Down Your Whip by Xu Beihong for a world record HK$72 million (US$9,211,680), more than double its estimated price. In total Sotheby's sold HK$1.05 billion (US$134 million) of art during its spring sales series in Hong Kong, well above expected. Henry Howard-Sneyd, Deputy Chairman of Europe and Asia and Managing Director of Sotheby's Asia, said this result built on "five years of spectacular growth", during which sales had tripled.

Christie's sold a total of HK$1.52 billion (US$195.4 million) during its five-day spring sales in Hong Kong, a 26.5 per cent increase over last year. Sale prices included a record of almost HK$20.5 million (US$2.6 million) for Portrait of the Artist and His Friends by contemporary artist Yue Minjun (born in 1962), five times above the pre-sale estimate.

Christie's moved all of its regional sales to Hong Kong in 2000. Commenting that this season's sales results show "yet again the growing strength of the art market in Hong Kong", Edward Dolman, Chief Executive of Christie's International, said he expects the firm's Asian art business to keep growing by 15 - 20 per cent each year.

Record launch

Bonhams' first sales in Hong Kong, held in May, saw more than HK$40 million (US$5.1 million) of artworks change hands – the highest total Bonhams has ever achieved for a series of inaugural actions. Asia Chairman Colin Sheaf noted that the market for Chinese art is "global, resilient (and) hungry for the very finest". He described Hong Kong as "the world's most exciting and competitive centre" for selling classic Chinese art.

To mark the 10th anniversary since Hong Kong's return to British rule, Sotheby's auctioned a private collection of Reunification Art on June 29, with part proceeds going to the Chinese Red Cross.

Kevin Ching, Chief Executive Officer of Sotheby's Asia, said the special auction acknowledged China's economic ‘great leap forward' in the decade since Handover, propelling it to the forefront of the international arena. He said that many Western collectors, together with the newly rich in China, have joined established buyers from Hong Kong, Taiwan and South East Asia, all contributing to the development of the Hong Kong art market.

"Hong Kong, rather than New York or London, is in fact the major and leading centre for top end Chinese art, including paintings, ceramics and works of art," Mr Ching said. "There is no doubt that Hong Kong's present prosperity as well as the rather free art market  owes a lot to the success of reunification with China and its adherence to the one country, two systems principle . It is only right that we should celebrate the 10th anniversary with our auction of reunification art at end June, just before the July 1 celebration."

Related links
Sotheby's 
Christie's
Bonhams Hong Kong