Chinese Art Market, Sales, Market Analysis by Chinese Art Specialist

Chinese Art Market Today

Art News, 2009

Sotheby's cautious on Asian Sales in fragile Market (April 2, 2009)
Christie's New York Spring Asian Art Week Achieves $36.4 Million (March 20, 2009)
Art Auctions Exceed Expectations (March 20, 2009)
Sky High Chinese Art Market Comes Back to Earth (March 13,2009)
Sotheby's Scales Back Asian Art Sales in Hong Kong (Feb. 13, 2009)
China Protest Christie's Auction in Paris of Relics(Feb. 20, 2009)
Christie's Auction Hurts the Feelings of the Chinese People and Mandarin Unbids Christie's Auction (Feb. 21, 2009)
Sotheby's will shrink its international operation on Asian Art but shift its focus to the Hong Kong market in 2009.
Forgeries of works by Fu Baoshi, Qian Songyan, Ya Min, Song Wenzhi and Wei Zixi, have crowded the Chinese art market.
Works by four famous artists of the Ming dynasty, Shen Zhou, Wen Zhengmin, Tang Ying and Chou Ying, are in high demand.
The market appreciation for Buddhist art objects has slowed down significantly in 2008.
Chinese Painting signed by court artists of the Qing dynasty has lost its leading role due to the lower quality of objects presented to the current art market.

Market Analysis, 2009

The Chinese art market was dominated by short-term investors rather than long-term art collectors. Museums were not active.
Contemporary Chinese art of the 80s was the leader.
The Chinese art market slowed down afterreaching a peak in 2005.
The Chinese art market joined the international Chinese art market. Both Sotheby’s and Christie’s were actively involved in the art market in China.
The sale of classical Chinese paintings and calligraphies was very slow as compared with that of contemporary Chinese art and ceramics.
Jade, furniture and ceramics were steady, with no dramatic ups and downs.
Decorative arts and crafts, the new stars on the market, started to gain favor from buyers.

Market Watch List, 2009

Buying Fine Porcelains of the Republican Period Is Promising. It is reported that the price of fine porceplain items of this period has gone up Ten Times in Five Years. Paying attention to the masterpieces is always wise. Trying not to be tempted by jars with a Chinese character, "Happiness," ornamentation is a must. Buyers should also avoid less than perfect items.

Buying Chinese Paintings by Female Artists Has Potentials. This can be an attractive market for new collectors and collectors with a smaller budget. Chinese paintings by seventeen Chinese woman artists of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) were first auctioned as a group during the first weekend of September 2006 in Beijing. Paticipated female artists are Li Ying, Ma Quan, Qian Yuling, and Liao Jiahui, etc. Subject matters focus on flowers, bird, and female figures. In 2004, a Chinse flower painting by Yan Yan of the Song dynasty (918-960) was sold for 275,000 yuan (US$34,375) in Shanghai. The painting of "Five Hundred Arhats" by Liao Jiahui reached 66,000 RMB (US$8,250) in September 2006 in Beijing. Another flower and Rock painting by the same artist was sold for 36,000 HK$ (US$4,600) in Hong Kong in 2005. The smoothly rising statistics suggest that the value of Classical Chinese Paintings by Female Chinese artist continues to increase in the coming years.

Buying Chinese Fan Paintings by Fine Artists Is Wise. Chinse art market analysists predict that classical Chinese fan painting has strong potentials. Chinese art collectors should pay attention to the performance of ancient Chinese fan paintings in the Chinese art market. Starting from the second of 2003, ancient Chinese painting in fan format presented itself as a strong candidate for Chinese art collectors. A fan painting by Wang Jian (1598-1677), Pine Trees in Valley, was sold for 770,000 RMB (US$96,250) in Beijing. A Chinese fan paintings painted or calligraphied by eight Chinese masters of the Ming Dynasty reached 101.200 RMB (US$12,650) in May 2004 in Beijing. In December 2004, a Chinese figure painting in the fan format by famous Chinese artist of the Yuan dyansty (1269-1368) Liu Guanda (fl.1280) was sold for 2420,000 (US$ 30,250), breaking the record of the artist in auction sales.