Eastern Asian Art is achieving unprecedented results at auction, with records reshaping the weight of the Asian market in the global system.
How have New York auctions spotlighted East Asia?
The New York Sales auctions by Sotheby’s last November, led by the portrait by Gustav Klimt “Bildnis Elisabeth Lederer” (1914-16), sold for 236.4 million dollars, provided the ideal context to observe the growing weight of Asian works. In this scenario, several works from the eastern area have set new value records.
What is today the most expensive Chinese work at auction?
The current record for a Chinese work belongs to a set of twelve ink panels by the traditional master Qi Baishi. The cycle “Twelve Landscape Screens” (十二山水屏风, 1925) features views of China’s mountains and rivers, accompanied by the artist’s calligraphy, and represents a synthesis of his stylistic maturity.
According to the auction house Beijing Poly International Auction, which handled the sale in December 2017 for 931.5 million yuan (140.8 million dollars), the core is considered the highest expression of a specific evolutionary phase of Qi and is also the largest among the twelve-landscape formats created by the artist. This sale made Qi the only East Asian author to have surpassed the 100 million dollar threshold at auction.
Why do Chinese imperial ceramics attract record figures?
It’s not just paintings leading the market in the area: ceramics have also contributed to raising records, as demonstrated by the famous Qianlong imperial vase “Revolving Phoenix” (有凤来仪). Sold for 265.7 million yuan (41.6 million dollars) on June 7, 2021, by Beijing Poly International Auction, it holds the record as the most expensive Chinese ceramic artifact ever auctioned.
The “revolving” system was developed by Tang Ying, active during the Qing era in the service of Emperor Qianlong, known for his experimental taste that pushed porcelain production to its limits. Each vase of this type consists of multiple distinct elements, glazed, enamel-decorated, and fired individually, which rotate to reveal images on the inner walls.
On average, it took 18 weeks to complete a single specimen, a fact that contributes to the rarity of these objects and their strong collector demand. Moreover, the motif of the phoenix, depicted flying in the sky as the female counterpart of the imperial dragon, stands out against a dense background of vegetal elements and small birds, reflecting a complex dynastic symbolism.
What role do great contemporary Chinese masters play?
In the sector of modern and contemporary artists, the most significant portfolios are those of Zhang Daqian (张大千) and Zao Wou-Ki (趙無極). Both regularly appear at the top of international sales rankings, but with very different aesthetic and biographical paths.
Considered among the greatest interpreters of 20th-century ink landscape, Zhang is often cited as one of the best-selling painters at world auctions. His “Landscape after Wang Ximeng” (仿王希孟千里江山) was sold by Sotheby’s Hong Kong on May 3, 2022, for 370 million Hong Kong dollars (47 million dollars), marking the artist’s personal record.
The work reinterprets in a contemporary key “A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains” (千里江山图) by Wang Ximeng, maintaining the spectacular blue and green palette that characterizes the original masterpiece. However, the multi-layered spatial construction reflects Zhang’s autonomous research, intertwining historical citation and personal language.
How has Zao Wou-Ki’s painting conquered the global market?
Zao Wou-Ki, a Sino-French artist, developed a language close to lyrical abstraction and abstract expressionism, capable of engaging a broad audience well beyond Asia. His transcultural biography has favored the reception of his work in European and American museum and market contexts.
The consecration in terms of sales came in 2018 with “Juin-Octobre 1985”, a large triptych created in 1985 and considered the most extensive work of his career, measuring about 10 meters by 3. The work was sold on September 30, 2018, by Sotheby’s Hong Kong for 510 million Hong Kong dollars (65 million dollars).
The abstract painting, dominated by blue and yellow with green accents, was originally presented at the Galerie de France in Paris, marking a central moment in the dialogue between Asian painting and Western avant-gardes of the 1980s.
Why do Chinese works still dominate Asian auctions?
Most of the lots from Asia that reach record prices at auction are of Chinese origin, a supremacy linked to economic, demographic, and cultural components. In particular, the economic boom that occurred in the People’s Republic in the late second half of the 20th century provided a new elite with the ability to participate with increasing strength in major sales.
Moreover, the breadth of the internal market and competition among bidders have gradually pushed valuations upward, consolidating sustained demand for both historical and modern art. This phenomenon is also reflected in periodic reports from international auction houses like Sotheby’s, which show the growing incidence of Asian buyers.
What signals indicate greater Asian diversification?
That said, Chinese hegemony does not exhaust the panorama of East Asian art in world auctions. The growing visibility of Japanese painter Yoshitomo Nara, Korean Kim Whan-ki, and various Indian sculptors indicates a progressive broadening of the field.
Furthermore, the results achieved in auctions in Hong Kong, London, and New York signal a cross-interest in languages ranging from Japanese post-pop to Korean lyrical abstraction, to subcontinent sculpture. Market analyses published by platforms like Artprice and regional observers such as Poly Auction show how the Asian presence is increasingly taking on a structural dimension.
Overall, these auction records not only attest to the exceptional quality of individual works and authors but also reveal an ongoing rebalancing between East and West in the contemporary and historicized art market. The competitive dynamic among collectors, auction houses, and Asian capitals suggests that the region’s role will continue to grow in the coming years.
As expert in digital marketing, Amelia began working in the fintech sector in 2014 after writing her thesis on Bitcoin technology. Previously author for several international crypto-related magazines and CMO at Eidoo. She is now the co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Cryptonomist and Econique.
She is also a marketing teacher at Digital Coach in Milan and she published a book about NFTs for the Italian publishing house Mondadori, while she is also helping artists and company to entering in the sector. As advisor, Amelia is also involved in metaverse-related project such as The Nemesis and OVER.
