Chinese Pay Record Prices for Art at Sotheby's Sale (Update1) - yazzy's at www.williamverdult.com

According to Bloomberg.com Chinese buyers paid record prices for Qing Dynasty antiques, including a white-jade seal, at Sotheby's Hong Kong auction, driving total sales to HK$1.55 billion ($200 million), said the New York-based auctioneer.

A Chinese collector yesterday paid HK$46.2 million, or more than twice Sotheby's pre-sale top estimate, for the 4.5 centimeter-tall seal, inscribed with the Chinese characters for ``Treasure of the Emperor Emeritus,'' according to a Sotheby's statement. The same buyer paid HK$39 million at yesterday's auction for an imperial album with imprints of antique seals, said Nicolas Chow, a Sotheby's director.

``The purchases are as much about patriotism as a love of art,'' said Cai Mingchao, general manager of Xiamen Harmony Art International Auction Co., who last year paid a record HK$116.6 million for a Ming Dynasty Buddhist bronze statue. ``Many of us just want these Chinese treasures to come home.''

At least 1 million pieces of top-grade Chinese relics are scattered in more than 200 museums across 47 nations, according to a 2003 article by state-run Xinhua News. Many were looted by foreign troops in the century after the first Opium War (1840- 1842), when Britain, Russia and other nations annexed parts of China. A vast horde of national treasures was also removed from the mainland when the Kuomintang government retreated to Taiwan in 1949. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory.

China, with $1.33 trillion of foreign reserves, has bought back some key treasures through state agencies like Beijing's Poly Art Museum, an affiliate of the People's Liberation Army.

Signaling Patriotism

As a way of signaling patriotism, some businessmen in Hong Kong and Macau are paying millions for Chinese artworks and donating them to the country. Last month, casino billionaire Stanley Ho paid a record HK$69.1 million for a Qing Dynasty bronze horse-head taken from the imperial retreat by French and British troops in October 1860. Ho donated the sculpture to the Chinese government.

In 2003, China-born Hong Kong businesswoman Alice Cheng gave an antique enamel vase to the Shanghai Museum, a year after she paid HK$41.5 million for the work at a Sotheby's auction, state-run People's Daily reported.

``Expect to see more mainland Chinese buyers on the auction scene as they get wealthier,'' said Cai, 43, on the sidelines of Sotheby's auction yesterday.

John Berwald, a New York-based art dealer, paid HK$35 million including commission for a Ming Dynasty blue-and-white stembowl with dragons and waves. The other three bowls of the type are in museums in Beijing, Taipei and Paris, according to Sotheby's brochure.

`Very Selective'

Given the steep price gains in Qing and Ming Dynasty ceramics, bidders have to be ``very selective'' in what they buy, Berwald said, in an interview on the sidelines.

Sotheby's four-day auction, the second of its biannual Hong Kong sale, ended yesterday. Earlier this week, the New York- based auctioneer sold a flawless 6.04-carat blue diamond for HK$61.9 million, the highest per-carat price paid for a gem. A painting by Chinese contemporary artist Yue Minjun sold for HK$31.7 million -- more than double its top estimate.

A 20-meter (66-foot) Cai Guoqiang gunpowder-on-paper artwork, the highlight of Sotheby's Chinese contemporary art auction and dubbed one of his more important works, fetched HK$20.5 million, just above its pre-sale top estimate, amid cautious bidding.

Sotheby's and bigger rival Christie's International hold biannual auctions in Hong Kong, the world's third-largest art auction market after New York and London.