China takes lead in world art, collectables market – report

China has overtaken the United States as the biggest auction market for art and collectable objects, after its sales more than doubled in just one year, according to new research published last week.

A report for the Conseil des Ventes Volontaires (the French Auction Market Authority) said sales in China, including Hong Kong, grew 137 per cent in 2010 to €7.6 billion.

China now holds 34.3 per cent of global market share, compared to 24.2 per cent in 2009, said the authority, a public body that regulates the auction industry in France.

“China took third place from France in 2004” and moved into second place in 2009, overtaking Britain, said Pierre Capelle of the Noeo Conseil management consultancy in Paris, which compiled the report.

The findings concentrate on “art and collectable objects”, a field that is wider than “fine art” which comprises paintings, sculptures, drawings, engravings and photographs.

Noeo Conseil’s findings put the US in second place with sales worth €5.98 billion in 2010, up 62 per cent from the previous year, with a market share of 27 per cent. In third place was Britain at €3.29 billion, up 70 per cent, and a market share of 14.9 per cent, then France at €1.4 billion, down eight per cent, and a 6.3 per cent share. Overall, the worldwide auction market for art and collectable objects leaped 66 per cent in 2010, with a total value of €22.15 billion, according to the report, based on a survey of nearly 3,000 auctioneers. Chinese collectors have been particularly eager to buy ancient Chinese artefacts, which have been hitting record prices in the face of a relatively shortage of available items.

In November 2010, a Chinese vase from the 18th century sold for $69.2 million at a London auction held by Bainbridges, which subsequently had trouble recovering the sum from the winning Chinese bidder.