The art of widening tastes

SUPPOSE you have a growing pool of ultra-high-net-worth Asian art collectors on the one hand, and a pile of Western art on the other. How do you ensure the two meet for your greatest benefit? This is basically the conundrum facing global auction houses Christie's and Sotheby's in their competition to dominate a global art market increasingly geared towards China and its deep-pocket bidders known for their insatiable passion for collecting art.

Since the early 2000s, Chinese collectors have taken the art world by storm, contributing massively to Christie's and Sotheby's impressive rise in sales. In 2014, Christie's sold US$8.4 billion in fine and decorative arts (up 17 per cent year on year); Sotheby's total sales hit US$6 billion (up 18 per cent year on year). Last year, Asian art sales totalled US$717 million at Christie's and US$900 million at Sotheby's. Asian buyers represent 27 per cent of Christie's global clientele and 17 per cent of Sotheby's - still behind American and European clients, but representing the bulk of first-time bidders in both auction houses.

Chinese collectors have customarily focused on Chinese art, both traditional art - which encompasses decorative art, old ink calligraphy and paintings - as well as modern and contemporary paintings, thus fuelling an unprecedented boom in Chinese artefacts' auction prices globally over the last decade. Star lots such as the Qianlong Emperor's zitan dragon throne and a doucai chicken cup, both sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong and bought by Shanghai billionaire Liu Yiqian for his Long Museum, have made headlines worldwide; the dragon throne cost US$11 million in 2009 and the chicken cup, US$36 million in 2014.