Chinese boost prices in world’s auction houses
A Chinese face or two in the crowd at the world’s auction houses often means one thing: the gavel will fall on a price far beyond the seller’s wildest dreams.
Fierce bidding by Chinese buyers for a vase at a small London auctioneer in November, for example, drove the price up nearly 40 times beyond its estimate — from around US$1.9 million to US$70 million.
It was the highest price ever paid for a Chinese artwork sold at auction and equivalent to a huge lottery win for the sellers, who found the 18th Century Qianlong Emperor-era piece while clearing out a house after a relative died.
Christie’s most expensive Chinese lot in 2010 was a pair of crane statues, with the four lifesize wading birds waddling off to a Hong Kong real estate tycoon for US$16.7 million in December.
From now on, whenever there is an auction filled with Chinese competitors, try announcing that there is a man outside giving out free Far East Movement or Yo Yo Ma tickets. Maybe that will clear the room for some easier bidding!