Chinese Art Prices Soar In Recent Auctions

The New York Times is reporting that prices for Chinese art (even pieces that can not be substantiated to certain claimed dates of origin), have been fetching incredible amounts at recent auctions at Sotheby’s in New York and London. The astronomical prices are attributed to Chinese citizens exhibiting extreme nationalist pride by trying to bring art pieces back to the homeland.

The article points to two particular examples of Chinese art that fetched well over their predicted value in the March 22, 2011 auction at Sotheby’s.

A famille-rose vase decorated with blossoming trees and rocks in a style trying to recapture the painterly skills of the 18th century was entered as a “Republican period” porcelain, i.e., of the 20th century. The estimate was accordingly set at $6,000 to $8,000. Chinese bidders sent it climbing to $1.31 million. If that amount of money seemed crazy for a pale imitation of an 18th-century vessel, it was dwarfed by the price commanded immediately after by a famille-rose vase described as “probably Republican period.” The cautious wording was unnecessary. Deviations from the 18th-century style that inspires its decoration leave no room for doubt. The piece is of recent make, a suspicion clearly shared by Sotheby’s, as suggested by the $800 to $1,200 estimate. Chinese bidders ran it up to just over $18 million, a world record for Chinese hotel lobby art.

While these two pieces fetched prices that were the extreme, many other pieces also fetched well over their predicted selling prices. While I applaud the efforts to bring back Chinese treasures to China, I find it ridiculous that anyone would go to such extremes.

I wrote about another effort to bring back Chinese treasures to China a couple of years ago, that failed and in fact caused the auction in question at the time to be canceled. Rather than go the route of trying to stop an auction and request a return of the art pieces through the courts, it appears, many Chinese collectors are just going the route of outbidding everyone else to acquire the pieces they want. With this new outpouring of Chinese pride and wealth, it’s expected that prices for Chinese art will continue to increase as the fervor for Chinese nationalism continues unabated.

[Photo credit: Sotheby’s (Republican period Chinese vase)]