Differences in Oriental Art

The Economist has a very interesting article about the Oriental Art auctions by Sotheby's and Christie's held in Paris in December.  The interesting aspect is the authors statements on the continued high demand, while other Oriental art, such as Japanese and Korean is not nearly as strong, for a number of reasons.  The article makes the point that many Chinese collectors are buying quality Chines art at auction.  While the main market for Korean and Japanese art is from Westerns, and many primarily purchase from dealers and not auction.

The article also criticizes the timing of the sales which were just before Christmas.

The Economist article states

Unlike the market for Chinese ceramics and decorative works of art, which is crowded with Chinese buyers from Hong Kong and the mainland energetically seeking out treasures to bring home, the markets for Japanese and Korean works of art are dominated by Western collectors. This is a small and highly specialised group who tend to buy through dealers rather than at auction. Anyone trying to lure such buyers into the saleroom should not repeat Christie’s mistake and schedule a sale on December 21st, or even, as Sotheby’s did, on December 18th. Western collectors have other things on their minds in the week before Christmas.

Both Paris sales were weak, especially Christie’s, where nearly 60% of the 125 lots of Japanese works failed to sell. This included a lovely piece of 20th-century lacquer, a handmade box by Nishimura Hikobei with a case shaped like a teahouse (pictured above). With Korean works the bought-in rate was even worse, at well over 70%.

In a fragile market a poor sale can have serious consequences. Potential sellers, discouraged by low prices and high bought-in rates, will hold on to their treasures and wait for confidence to return to the market. So a weak sale today often means an uninteresting sale tomorrow, benefiting neither sellers nor buyers.

The contrast with the Chinese portion of both sales could not have been greater. Chinese dealers and collectors have been quick to recognise how much porcelain, jade and cloisonné there still is in private French collections, much of it unknown and uncatalogued. And they pay attention to all Chinese sales, not just those in Paris but in the country too. At Sotheby’s Paris sale 294 lots of Chinese works of art were offered, at Christie’s slightly fewer—233 lots. Although Sotheby’s bought-in rate was higher (at just under 30%, whereas Christie’s was just under 20%), what did sell went spectacularly well, most of it to Chinese buyers.

To read the full Economist article,click HERE.