Chinese buyers crave for their own artists and art

Art from China is in spotlight with a major private imperial Chinese porcelain collection in the West is on the block in Hong Kong courtesy Sotheby. There are over 75 lots on offer from the famous Meiyintang collection owned by Swiss businessman Stephen Zuellig’s family.

As NRIs in case of India are driving the rush for contemporary art within the country and outside, so are the Chinese buyers rooting for the art of their great republic. Chinese masterpieces, acquired by Western collectors in the past, are entering the market in appreciation of their aesthetic and monetary value. The Business Standard columnist Barun Roy in a recent essay takes note of the ‘second cultural revolution’, describing how the art drain is reversing, at last.

The expert observes: “The new generation of Chinese possesses the money and also has the interest. Buying art is not only good investment but also a sort of spiritual activity to them. So, while they don’t mind spending huge sums to buy back their home country’s art, they are equally keen to buy, say for example, contemporary artworks from elsewhere in Asia or Impressionist masterpieces from Europe. This new-found albeit not unexpected interest has made the Chinese art a major force in the international market and turned Shanghai, Beijing and HK into global art hubs, like London and New York."

According to Artprice, China topped most other international markets last year in terms of fine art auctions, accounting for over 30 percent of the sales, ahead of the US, the UK and France (just about 5 percent). With such a huge appetite for art, it isn’t really surprising that four of the world’s top 10 artists last year on basis of auction revenue were Chinese. Qi Baishi (1863-1957) even managed to outrank Andy Warhol. Owning a Qi Baishi, considered a path-breaker in a rather traditional Chinese cultural milieu, is now a Chinese collector’s dream.