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A feast of Asian art in New York

Source: Agencies | March 20, 2015, Friday | Online Edition

Program Code: 0909346150305004 | Source: CNTV

ART lovers, collectors and dealers from around the world are gathering in New York for Asia Art Week. It is an annual event that focuses on auctioning pieces from a number of Asian countries, making the event one of the largest in the world. Chinese artworks, in particular, are expected to be the best sellers.

"Ellsworth was a hugely charismatic man who collected across so many different categories,” said Jonathan Stone, chairman of Asia Art, Christie's.

“He was not just a collector who dealt in fine Chinese and Asian art. But he was also a scholar. He wrote some of the best books on Chinese furniture and really introduced Chinese furniture to people in the West. So the whole magic and aura of the personality of Robert Ellsworth has been reflected in the sales.”

The first auction, held on Tuesday, had 10 pieces for sale. All were sold for US$61 million. Almost all of the buyers were Asian.

It is not just Christie's that is seeing an influx of Asian buyers. Global auction houses such as Sotheby's and Bonhams are observing the same trend.

There is growing demand for Chinese art throughout the US. Given the profusion of fakes in China, American, European and Asian clients have flocked to the US, trusting the authenticity of the pieces sold there by American collectors.

Whether they are buying in New York or other parts of the world, Asian purchasing power is hard to ignore. Asian buyers represents 27 percent of auction house Christie's global clientele. Last year, Christie's sold US$844 million worth of Asian art, Sotheby's almost $800 million and Chinese auction house China Guardian US$940 million in sales last year.

Collectors such as Ellsworth have helped place Asian art on the global map.

"He's renowned particularly in the field of Asian art and how he really brought Asian art to the attention of people in the West 30 or 40, 50 years ago, when it didn't have so much attention as it does now, and, for that, he's truly respected and revered among people in America but also among people in China," Stone said.

As Chinese buyers come to New York, looking to bid on the next treasure, art dealers say the best place to find and buy Chinese antiques is not China - it is the US.

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