The art of the comeback: Chinese art market on the rebound with robust auction sales

Imperial artefacts proved highly sought after among mainland Chinese bidders at a Bonhams auction in Hong Kong, with the auction house posting strong revenues that signalled the rebounding health of the art market after last year’s anti-corruption drive.

With 80 per cent of lots sold and a total of HK$51 million in sales, the auction house attributed the “highly successful” result to the robustness of the Chinese art market, particularly for rare imperial porcelain. The majority of buyers from the mainland had “pushed the boundaries in terms of price”, it said.

“Almost 60 per cent of buyers were from mainland China while nearly 30 per cent were from Hong Kong and Taiwan,” Xibo Wang, head of Bonham’s Chinese Ceramics and works of art, said. Rare 18th century doucai waterpots were the hottest-selling items, fetching HK$12 million against an estimate of HK$10 million to HK$15 million.

Auction houses across Hong Kong reported significant growth from last season, with Christie’s sales up by 10.4 per cent to HK$807 million from HK$730.7 million last autumn. Poly Auction Hong Kong’s 2016 Spring Auction raised HK$1.28 billion - up 16.4 per cent from last year’s HK$1.1 billion.

Sotheby’s Chinese artwork sales till June 2016 this season notched HK$1.02 billion, up from HK$866.8 last year.