In the past two decades, Chinese art has returned rapidly, private collections in Europe and the United States in the twentieth century have dispersed with the times, and the origins have disappeared and scattered, and today China's strong domestic demand is more like a super sponge, absorbing Chinese art from all over the world. With the improvement of the Chinese market, these Scattered Chinese artworks have once again fallen back to their roots. With the market becoming less and less "raw goods", the Chinese antique market is now entering the "internal circulation" stage, which needs to be supported by the "cooked goods" that have returned in the past few decades.
Lot 1800| The De Beers Blue
15.1 ct Fancy Vivid blue diamonds, rectangular stepped cut, flawless inside clarity
Estimate pending (Expected transaction price over HK$380,000,000)
Hammer drop price: HK$390,000,000
Realized price: HK$450,925,000
Auction house: Sotheby's Hong Kong
Special: De Beers De Beers Haoyu Blue
On the evening of April 27, the "De Beers De Beers Haoyu Blue" blue diamond sold for HK$451 million, setting another milestone in the Hong Kong Sotheby's diamond auction. This rare 15.10 ct rectangular stepped-cut Fancy Vivid blue interior flawless diamond is the largest Fancy Vivid blue diamond ever auctioned.
The hue of blue diamonds, derived from trace amounts of boron in the crystal structure, is a wonderful mystery of nature and is still a very rare number of colored diamonds. Blue diamonds are fascinating, not only because they are rare, but also because of their dreamlike color. The temperament of blue is incomparable, and its mysterious charm has not changed for thousands of years - except for the historical heritage of the mummy of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, who is inlaid with lapis lazuli, Yves. Klein's most iconic modern artwork is also dominated by blue.
Lot 9 Qingqianlong enamel color garden baby play picture ribbon ear gourd flat bottle
"Qianlong Year" blue material model
Height: 9.9 cm
Source: Biography of the West Yorkshire Private Collection, UK, 1970s-80s
Estimate: HK$12,000,000 - 18,000,000
Auction house: Sotheby's Hong Kong
Special Session: Chinese art treasures include the De'an Tang Jade Collection and Happy Garden - Bei's Erotic Art Collection
Sale date: 29 April 2022
Number of lots: 108
In addition, another highly anticipated lot, "Qingqianlong Enamel Garden Baby Drama Picture Ribbon Ear Gourd Flat Bottle", with the bottom book "Qianlong Imperial System", is one of the most honored porcelain varieties in the Manchu Qing court, estimated at HK$12 million - 18 million, and will be the finale of Sotheby's Auction Week.
The impact of the epidemic has added a lot of uncertainty to the international art market. In recent years, the domestic collection market has risen steadily and significantly, and both the strength and the market have great potential. In the future, the post-art market has also attracted much attention, and its development trend can be paid attention to by three points: one is globalization; the other is the change of generations; and the third is the momentum of China's rise. According to the survey, the epidemic in the past two years has changed the Chinese craft auction market that everyone is familiar with, the most obvious of which is the "generational change" of the collection circle.
At present, emerging collectors in their 70s, 80s and even post-90s have invested, which also means that they represent the backbone of the future market. According to the "2021 Hurun Zhishang Premium - China Multi-Millionaire Brand Tendency Report", 70% of the surveyed Chinese high-net-worth individuals have collecting habits, and their enthusiasm for collecting has increased by 42% compared with last year. This huge market means that China will become one of the largest art markets in the world. As the number of chinese wealth upstarts rises year by year, incremental funds continue to increase, and the characteristics of the financial and cultural attributes of works of art will continue to be highlighted, which highlights the increasing demand for investors and collectors. Collecting works of art symbolizes a person's cultural taste and social status, and is a passport to enter the high-level cultural circle.
Top 3 Chinese Artworks / Top 2 Chinese Bone / Top 1 Chinese Crafts
King Ding supplemented the engraving of the duan shi lan ting tu ti silk full volume
Qianlong
BP Beijing Poly 06/07/2021
Lot 5142 L 1714.5 x 31.6 cm
Last year, Beijing Poly held a press conference in Beijing on April 14, the day of Wang Xizhi's Lanting restoration (the third day of the third lunar month), to announce the launch of a touring exhibition in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen [The World of The Hongli Calendar- Qianlong Imperial Poetry Manuscripts, Lanting Tuti Silk Scrolls and Important Palace Art Special Exhibitions]. This "thematic touring exhibition" can be described as a huge momentum, which immediately triggered the topic of cultural relics circles; although the special tour exhibition is based on the Lanting Tuti silk as the main theme, it also includes the combing work of the hongli Zhubi poems.
The tour attracted a wide range of repercussions from all levels of society, and the unprecedented achievements of the Qianlong Emperor in the cultural cause made the Qianlong imperial system have a new positioning in the field of collection and cultural and museum circles. Driven by the momentum of the thematic tour exhibition, the spring auction has become a record-breaking cradle, giving birth to the top 1 of the top ten Chinese handicraft auction transactions, and the "Qingqianlong Qingding Qingding Supplemental Carving Duan Shi Lan Ting Tu Ti Silk Full Volume" sold at a sky-high price of 241,500,000 yuan, which was auctioned for 35,750,000 yuan in China Guardian in 2004, and re-emerged from the jianghu after 17 years, and with the blessing of the thematic touring god operation, the increase soared rapidly.
The changing tide of the times
National Museum of China "Jade Artifacts Unearthed in the Spring and Autumn Period"
The most obvious example of "generational change" can be traced back to 2016, after a new wave of ancient jade in Bonhams, Hong Kong, although the number of ancient jade auctions on major auction houses every year is not much, but with a solid buying group, it is still thriving in the utensils market. The transaction price of gaogu jade is constantly being refreshed, and the transaction price climb is obvious. However, this wave of collectors in the ancient jade boom is different from the collection group in the 80s and 90s of the last century, and the collectors I contacted in the last century were mainly middle-aged entrepreneurs with careers, and this wave was the participation of many powerful young collectors. Therefore, the generational change of art market collectors is not only in the contemporary art on the cusp of the current table, but also in many young generations, who have a strong interest in China's high ancient culture, and their aesthetics are not only based on intuitive beauty, but also pursue the essence and cultural content of the artifacts themselves.
According to the fifth Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report, written by renowned cultural economist Dr. Clare McAndrew, millennial collectors spend the most: Millennial high-net-worth collectors are among the highest spending groups in 2020, with 30 percent spending more than $1 million (only 17 percent compared to baby boomers).
New trends in the future antique market
Northern Song Dynasty Ru kiln azure glaze washing
Art e-commerce will account for more than 80% of the market share
In addition, according to the fifth Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report by cultural economist Dr. Clare McAndrew, online sales have reached a new high: despite the overall slowdown in sales, online sales have reached a record high of $12.4 billion, doubling from 2019. The share of online sales increased from 9% in 2019 to 25% in 2020, which is also the first time that the share of online sales in the art market has surpassed that of the general retail market.
A variety of art and antique e-commerce platforms, such as micro-pai, micro-paitang and live broadcast, salted fish, vibrato and Kuaishou live broadcast, etc., have accelerated their activity. In addition, during the epidemic, the use of online transactions has become the mainstream trading model of art. It ignites the potential market for mass collection with the advantages of low cost, direct two-way interaction and communication, and a wide range of participants.
Personalized collections will become a major trend
At present, the circle of special collections has been emerging, such as the Song porcelain collection circle, which has been gradually formed; the Ming and Qing dynasty porcelain collection circle, the Yuan Qinghua collection circle, the Gao ancient jade collection circle, the Cultural Revolution collection circle, the ancient coin collection circle, the bronze mirror collection circle, the ancient books and historical documents collection circle, and so on are all assembled. Special display and cultural lecture activities in various categories of circles are taking shape, and circle trading is becoming more and more active.
Traditional and scientific identification will become the mainstream of high-end and high-end collections
At present, in the appraisal market, all kinds of so-called "appraisal experts" are flying all over the sky, and there are often nine kinds of "experts" in a collection, and all kinds of non-mainstream and nationally approved scientific inspection methods are also ostentatious and magical, so that collectors feel dazed and helpless, so that financial institutions outside the circle and social capital dare not enter the field of ancient art. Scientific and technological testing came into being, because the testing cost and heirlooms are relatively easy to distinguish the authenticity, and accurate scientific and technological testing is more suitable for high-end porcelain and yuanming high-end collections. In the future, fast and affordable testing institutions will occupy the ancient art testing market.
Ancient art investments will be made as part of the asset allocation of businesses and households
At present, in terms of the proportion of the real estate market, the stock and securities market, the ancient art and jewelry market, etc., the proportion of the latter is obviously low, and the proportion will become higher and higher in the future. At present, it is difficult for ordinary shareholders in the stock market to grasp the direction; the golden period of real estate speculation and speculation has passed, and the current real estate residential attributes will be more prominent; the art investment market that is responsible for heavy responsibilities has just been launched, and it should take on the investment responsibility of the capital market. Among the above investment varieties, only works of art and jewelry can be seen and touched, can be appreciated in ordinary times, can also be used as heirlooms, and can be cashed in the market when urgent use, which plays a dual role in the spiritual and material level.
According to the "2021 Hurun Zhishang Premium - China Multi-Millionaire Brand Tendency Report", 70% of the surveyed Chinese high-net-worth individuals have collecting habits, and their enthusiasm for collecting has increased by 42% compared with last year. Jewelry jadeite (27%) surpassed the famous wine list to become the most favored collectible, up 9 percentage points from last year. The inclusion of cultural artworks in the allocation table of household assets is also bound to be a future development trend. A significant feature of today's comprehensive national strength competition is that the status and role of culture have become more prominent, and more and more countries have taken the improvement of cultural soft power as an important development strategy. The development law of the international art market shows that when the per capita GDP exceeds 3,000 US dollars, the demand for collection will increase; when it reaches 5,000 US dollars, it will enter the "blowout era".
Beijing became the largest trading center
According to the "2021 Shanghai Guopai Hurun Global Art List", where do Chinese collectors and potential collectors live? On the Hurun Rich List last year, 2,918 entrepreneurs had a wealth of more than 2 billion yuan. Beijing is the city with the largest number of people on the list, with 341 people living in Beijing. Shenzhen 301 people remained second. Shanghai has grown rapidly in the past two years, ranking third in the country with 294 people this year. In addition, the report pointed out, "There are many potential collectors in China who have the ability to collect art works, and according to our list of the 100 richest people this year, there are 1185 billion-dollar entrepreneurs in China, an increase of 307 over last year." ”
Qingqianlong Imperial Foreign Color Carmine Rolling Road Carved Porcelain Hollow "There is a phoenix to yi, hundred birds and phoenixes" figure double ant ear big turning bottle
Height 63cm
Beijing Poly Auction
In the past, Hong Kong has been regarded as the leading seat of the art market for many years, and it belongs to the bellwether of asian art market auctions, and the industry has taken the transaction price of Hong Kong auctions as a benchmark. In the auction market in 2021, there were 100 million yuan lot and 63 tens of millions of lots in the porcelain miscellaneous items alone, and the tens of millions of lots increased by 106.45% compared with 2020, showing a colorful situation, and each auction house came up with a lot of heavy tools. In the porcelain plate, Qingqianlong has Fenglaiyi large turning cylinder to lead the porcelain plate, the furnace glaze Taiping has elephant turning cylinder ranked second, and the Ming Yongle glaze red sea water cone arch Cang Old Godson Tu Damei bottle ranked third. From a geographical point of view, mainland China occupies 46 seats in the miscellaneous lots of more than 10 million porcelain, and Hong Kong occupies 18 seats. Whether it is the purchasing power of collectors or the number of high-priced lots released, the mainland is slightly better.
Art collecting is a passionate investment, it is a kind of enjoyment for collectors, it also requires long-term investment, and successful collectors will gain the respect of others. Art collections also bring people from the same circles together. Collecting is a profound science, and "orderly circulation" of works of art is an additional plus, but it cannot be blindly pursued. This is an intriguing lesson for collectors, and it is worth spending a lifetime learning to appreciate its meaning. However, the collection of antiques must have a comprehensive cultural quality, to basically understand the history and culture, but reading and learning is only a simple understanding of the name, age and use of some antiques from theory, and it is absolutely impossible to learn without actual collection. In the long-term practice of buying and selling, through auctions, exhibitions, consultations with famous artists or visits to museums, he has accumulated a wealth of experience and is the best discerning group in the antique industry. I believe that people of every era have their own love and interpretation of art.
Sources: Sotheby's, Jar Art Network, The Paper, Art Basel, The Value, UBS, Sotheby's
END