Buoyed by bidding from South-East Asia, the market for Chinese fine art is booming

ANYONE who believes the art market has been felled by the financial crisis should have been in New York earlier this month for the seasonal auctions of Chinese bronzes, furniture and ceramics. The salerooms at Sotheby’s and Christie’s were overflowing with bidders, more than three-quarters of them from Hong Kong, mainland China and Taiwan. Extra Mandarin-speakers, all of them fluent and young, had been taken on specially to handle additional telephone bidding from Asia.

In the last round of sales, in London in May, buyers were both skittish and picky, shying away from anything they believed was over-priced or of less than stellar quality. Four months on, confidence has visibly returned to the market. Both auction houses reported exceptional sell-through rates; only a small proportion of the works were returned unsold. Lot after lot exceeded its top estimate as newly rich agents, dealers and collectors from South-East Asia fought for the chance to bring ancient treasures home. …