Lately, China has been “producing” more and more wealthy people. With increased wealth comes more sophisticated tastes, and this is perfect for the major auction houses of the world. Several important high-end sales will take place in Hong Kong this weekend, as now the city is the third largest auction hub in the world. The first two? London and New York.
On Friday, Christie’s will start a six-day spring sale with precious items like several pieces of contemporary art and a rare Patek Philippe watch. In all there will be over 2,700 lots presented at the auction, and they are expected to sell for a total of approximately HK$2.4 billion ($308 million). Steven Murphy, Christie’s CEO, described Hong Kong as one of the company’s “fastest growing markets” alongside other areas of the Greater China.
These changes are also positively affecting the Chinese art, as more and more wealthy people seem to be interested in works of art coming from China. Some even believe that the demand for Chinese art will soon be as great as that for European art. Jonathan Stone, the chairman for Asian art at Christie’s sais: “Chinese art is really claiming its rightful place”.
As a proof, Sotheby’s will sell a series of Chang Dai-chien paintings on Tuesday for an estimated KH$130 million (over $16.7 million). Stone also describes today’s Hong Kong as “a kind of pillar for the Asian art market”. We are definitely anxious to see what this weekend will bring for the auction houses that will hold their sales in the city.
