The CollectorHong Kong auction houses hope for a bumper autumn, despite economic jitters amid US-China trade war
Dealers anticipate the super-wealthy will dig deep for pieces that include a Qing-dynasty falangcai poppy bowl, an 18th-century vase designed for the Emperor Qianlong, and even a fake supermarket
There may be a chill wind blowing across the Chinese economy but Hong Kong auctioneers are still hoping to sell more this autumn than they did in the spring, which was a particularly strong season, when market conditions were balmier.
Gone is the sunny mood, however – and the liquidity – that less than five months ago helped both Christie’s and Sotheby’s cross the HK$3 billion (US$380 million) threshold at their spring sales. Chen Yifeng, vice-president and finance director of China Guardian Auctions, says he has no doubt his customers are feeling the pain.
“It’s not just the Sino-US trade war,” Chen says. “China’s deleveraging is having a greater impact on our clients’ spending power in the near term.”
Adding to the challenge, some departments have more – and pricier – consignments this season. The art market may not always move in lockstep with the economy during a downturn (the super-wealthy, after all, have a lot of firepower), but there must be more jitters among auction houses than usual.
Sotheby’s’ Chinese Works of Art department has about 300 lots, the same as in the spring, but total estimates exceed HK$1 billion compared with HK$700 million in April. The auction house will be hoping its top lot – a Qing-dynasty falangcai poppy bowl, valued at HK$200 million – will garner the same enthusiasm Qian Weicheng’s Qing-dynasty scroll did at a Sotheby’s sale in April. Qian’s Ten Auspicious Landscapes of Taishan sold for a hammer price of HK$128.5 million, nearly double its highest estimate, after an extraordinary 40-minute bidding war.
