The curtain of the 2021 domestic autumn auction opened
The 2021 domestic autumn filming drama has begun. On November 28, in the first "Impressionist and Modern Art Night Auction" launched by China Guardian Auctions, Monet's museum-level "Water Lily Pond and Rose" was sold for 154.1 million yuan with a commission, which also set a new record for the most expensive Western artwork in the mainland. The special exhibition, which brought together a total of 5 masterpieces by Monet, Pissarro, Cézanne and Picasso, four Western masters, won the white gloves, becoming the special session with the highest average single value this quarter. Christie's, Fulness, Yongle, Poly and other auction houses are also or about to start auctions in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and other places, and in order to meet the requirements of epidemic prevention and control, Gu Tianyi and Zhongmao Shengjia Auction House, which were originally to be auctioned in Beijing, have moved to Shanghai. What kind of good results will be achieved in many blockbuster lots, we will wait and see.
Monet's Water Lilies and Roses Sold at RMB 154,100,000
Yongle 2021 autumn auction preview site
China found the world's earliest tea remains, and the history of tea is 300 years ahead
Recently, the archaeological team of Shandong University published the "Analysis of Tea Remains in the No. 1 Warring States Tomb of Xigang Cemetery in the Ancient City of Zoucheng, Shandong" (Archaeology and Cultural Relics, No. 5, 2021), officially announcing that in the original porcelain bowl buried in the No. 1 Warring States Tomb of the Xigang Cemetery in Zoucheng, Zoucheng, Shandong, the excavated tea samples are boiled (brewed) tea residues, which are the earliest known tea remains in the world, and the physical evidence of the origin of the world's tea culture is at least 300 years in advance. The earliest physical excavation of tea leaves from previous archaeological discoveries was unearthed in the Western Han Dynasty Jingdiyang Mausoleum, and this discovery of the Ancient City of the State of Yi traces the physical evidence of the origin of tea culture back to the early Warring States period (453 BC to 410 BC).
The National Museum of Afghanistan reopened without damage
On November 27, local time, the National Museum of Afghanistan reopened to the public, exhibiting a large collection of bronzes, porcelain, stone carvings, wood carvings and so on. Earlier, Samangani, deputy spokesman for Afghanistan's interim government, said on social media that all the historical relics collected in the National Museum were properly protected and not lost, and 75 historical monuments were added. Samangani also said the Afghan Interim Government plans to build a large complex in the future dedicated to protecting and displaying Afghanistan's historical monuments.
The Brooklyn Museum received the largest investment in history
The Brooklyn Museum is the second largest museum in New York City, after the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan. Recently, the museum announced that The City of New York will donate $50 million to the Brooklyn Museum, which is the largest investment received in the museum's history. New York Mayor Blasio claimed to use culture and art to help the city emerge from the damage of the epidemic, and the donation was to modernize the 120-year-old museum.
China Auction Industry Association Released the "2020 China Cultural Relics and Artworks Auction Market Statistical Annual Report"
On November 22, 2021, the China Auction Industry Association (CAA) released the "2020 China Cultural Relics and Art Auction Market Statistics Annual Report" online, and jointly released the "2020 China Cultural Relics and Artworks Global Auction Statistics Annual Report". In 2020, due to the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the number of enterprises carrying out special auctions of cultural relics and artworks nationwide dropped to 202, but the turnover increased by 15.22% over the previous year to 26.406 billion yuan. As of the time of statistics (May 15, 2021), a total of 12.472 billion yuan has been settled. In 2020, 94% of the auctions were held through the Internet, with a turnover of 1.353 billion yuan, and the transaction volume and turnover increased by 100.33% and 77.79% respectively over the previous year. In 2020, the total auction sales of Chinese cultural relics and artworks worldwide totaled US$5.7 billion (about 39.3 billion yuan, including buyer's commission), down only 0.5% from the previous year. Among them, overseas turnover has shrunk by nearly one-third, and the Chinese mainland market will account for 76% of the global share in 2020.
Beijing released the "14th Five-Year Plan" cultural and expo plan, and the number of museums is expected to exceed 260
Recently, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics announced the "Beijing Municipal Cultural Relics Museum Development Plan for the 14th Five-Year Plan Period", proposing to promote the construction of a museum city and promote the integration of museum resources into the education system. The "Planning" proposes to complete the construction of the Grand Canal Museum (East Hall of the Capital Museum); support the construction of national museums such as the North Courtyard of the Palace Museum and the National Museum of Natural History; encourage all parties to give full play to their respective advantages and rely on cultural relics, historical buildings, industrial heritage, agricultural heritage, cultural landscapes and intangible cultural heritage to set up museums; enrich museum categories such as natural science, modern and contemporary art, and advocate the construction of new museums such as community, ecology, and science and technology. At the end of the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, there will be 1.2 museums per 100,000 people, the number of museums will exceed 260, the average annual number of visitors will be 60 million, the number of exhibitions will be 600 per year, and there will be 10 well-known brands of cultural and creative products of cultural and cultural institutions.
Einstein's manuscript was auctioned at a record-breaking price and was rumored to have been purchased by Li Ka-shing
A manuscript of the late physicist Albert Einstein's "general theory of relativity" was recently auctioned at Christie's in Paris, France, and finally sold for 11.6 million euros, setting the highest price of Einstein's manuscripts. The 54-page manuscript, which contains preparations for the theory of relativity, was written by Einstein and his colleague and friend, Swiss engineer Michel Besso, in Zurich, Switzerland, from June 1913 to early 1914. Of these, 26 pages were written by Einstein, 25 by Besso, and 3 by the duo. According to media sources, the buyer was Li Ka-shing, a senior adviser to the Hong Kong Governor and department. The Li Ka Shing Foundation said it would not comment on the incident.
Pace Gallery launches NFT platform Pace Verso
Pace Gallery recently announced the launch of a new NFT platform, Pace Verso, to release digital artwork from Lucas Samaras' series "XYZ". The platform will be run by Christiana Ine-Kimba Boyle, Director of Online Sales, with more titles coming out after the first project was launched. This will include NFT works by Sui Jianguo, a leading figure in contemporary Chinese sculpture represented by Pace.
Lucas Samaras, XYZ 0868
The term NFT was selected as the Collins Dictionary Word of the Year
The Collins Dictionary recently announced that "NFT" was selected as its 2021 word of the year, beating a series of candidate words including mixed office, metaverse and so on. In 202 alone, the use of the term NFT increased by 11,000%. The dictionary's 2020 vocabulary is "lockdown," and pandemic-related terms are still shortlisted this year, such as "double vaxxed" and "hybrid working." "Crypto" is an abbreviation for cryptocurrency, "cheugy," which means bulky or outdated, and is also a shortlisted word for this year.
Are virtual world house prices higher than the real thing? Well-known singer Lin Junjie also entered the game
Recently, a piece of digital land in Decentraland (an online virtual world platform) was sold in a record amount of about $2.43 million in cryptocurrency, more than double the previous highest transaction price of virtual real estate. The price is also slightly higher than the average price per apartment in Manhattan, USA. Well-known singer Lin Junjie recently announced on Twitter that he holds three Decentraland virtual plots: Prime Gallery 1, Prime Gallery 2, NEAREST to GENESIS PLAZA, stepping into the metaverse world.
More than half of the people in the Philippines are aware of the NFT, and the data is super developed
According to the latest NFT report published by the financial comparison website Finder, among the 20 countries or regions, the highest rate of NFT adoption is in the Philippines (32%), and the lowest is in Japan (2.2%). The highest percentage of Respondents in Japan who said they didn't know what the NFT was (90%), followed by Germany (83%) and the UK (79%). The Philippines has the highest awareness of NFTs at 51 percent, which can be largely attributed to the explosive growth of Axie Infinity in the country.