NEWS

Friday, May 25, 2012

THE DODGY NUMBERS GAME



The dodgy numbers game
Was the 2011 joint turnover of the Chinese auction houses $154.2bn, $148.5bn, $88.1bn—or much less?

By Wang Tao. Market, Issue 235, May 2012
Published online: 17 May 2012

If you believe the statistics, as many art indexes and investment funds seem to, China is overtaking the US to become the world’s highest spending art and antiques market. But is this true?

The figures, after a closer look at the reality of the mainland Chinese auction scene, suggest that conclusion is debatable.

The dominant force in the Chinese art market is the auction. Art auctions did not exist in China before 1985; although there were auctions there in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, these were closed down as “capitalist trade” after the establishment of the communist government in 1949. In the mid-1980s, when stamp-collecting was encouraged, philatelists began to trade their collections and stamp auctions proved to be a great success.

In those early days, art auctions were spontaneous and regional, and the sales were quite limited: for example, an auction held by the Beijing Antique Store on 3 June 1988 offered 33 lots, of which only seven sold. The first large-scale, international-style, auction was organised by the Beijing city government and took place in October 1992.

In February 1993, the first art auction house, Shanghai’s Duo Yun Xuan Art Auctioneers, was established under the Shanghai Calligraphy and Painting Publishing House. The same year, China Guardian started up in Beijing; as a limited company it followed the model of Western auction houses such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s. In 1994, the Beijing Hanhai Auction Company was established: its first auction made a then record of Rmb33.4m (at the time, $3.9m).


No comments:

BOSES

BOSES

IBALONG

IBALONG

THY WOMB

THY WOMB


PHILIPPINE ART PUBLICATIONS










About This Blog









SECRET FRESH GALLERY

SECRET FRESH GALLERY

DRAWING ROOM

DRAWING ROOM

ALTRO MONDO

ALTRO MONDO

SINDO ARTWALL

SINDO ARTWALL

OARHOUSE

OARHOUSE

AYALA MUSEUM

AYALA MUSEUM

BLANC

BLANC

GSIS MUSEO NG SINING

GSIS MUSEO NG SINING

MUSEO DE LIPA

MUSEO DE LIPA

NAGA CITY ART GALLERY

NAGA CITY ART GALLERY

GALLERIA NICOLAS

GALLERIA NICOLAS

WEST GALLERY

WEST GALLERY

GALLERY ORANGE

GALLERY ORANGE

40TH LIKHANG SINING 2013

40TH LIKHANG SINING 2013

ART FAIR PHILIPPINES 2013

ART FAIR PHILIPPINES 2013

RIZAL ARTS FESTIVAL 2013

RIZAL ARTS FESTIVAL 2013

CINEMA REHIYON 2013

CINEMA REHIYON 2013

VIVA-EXCON LOGO DESIGN COMPETITION

VIVA-EXCON LOGO DESIGN COMPETITION

2013 AMELIA LAPEÑA BONIFACIO LITERARY CONTEST

2013 AMELIA LAPEÑA BONIFACIO LITERARY CONTEST

ANIMAHENASYON 2013 POSTER DESIGN CONTEST

ANIMAHENASYON 2013 POSTER DESIGN CONTEST


  © Blogger template Brownium by Ourblogtemplates.com 2009

Back to TOP