Mainland Chinese buyers contribute significantly to global art sales: report
Buyers in mainland China accounted for 24 per cent of global auctioneer Christie's profit for the first half of 2014
A new class of art aficionados in China has made a strong impression on the international auction circuit, according to a newly released report by Christie’s, the world’s largest fine arts auctioning business.
According to the report, in the first six months of 2014, Christie’s experienced a record half year, with art sales of around US$4.5 billion (HK$35 billion), a 12 per cent increase from the previous year.
Christie’s sales at its Asian auction houses declined by eight per cent, but sales to clients based in Asia rose to encompass 28 per cent of the company’s total half year profit.
Buyers from Greater China accounted for 24 per cent of this amount - indicating that many were not necessarily making their purchases at local auction houses, but rather at international ones in Europe and the US.
In particular, Christie’s New York branch received heavy traffic, with an estimated 31 per cent of all new buyers making their purchases there.
“Asia is playing a significant role for Christie's role globally,” said Christie’s global CEO Steven Murphy. “We have seen steady continued growth with 20 per cent of all new clients this year from Asia and an increased spend by mainland Chinese clients in our sales globally up 46 per cent [from] the same period last year.”
Many of these Chinese clients were not limiting their purchases to Asian-themed art, Murphy added.
