Asia

As Frieze week in London has shown, once one art fair in a given city – London, New York, Paris – gains critical mass, others spring up around it.

Among the most important Asian works of art to come to market in the modern collecting era, an Imperial Ming dynasty embroidered silk thangka sold for HK$310m (£27m) at a Christie’s latest Chinese art series in Hong Kong.

Bonhams will their launch their sales of Modern and Contemporary Art from Asia in Hong Kong on March 15 during the ‘Art Basel Hong Kong’ week.

Visitors admire a stand at the 10th edition of Fine Art Asia in Hong Kong, staged from October 4-7 in the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, against a backdrop of the pro-democracy protests in the city.

Christie’s have opened their new exhibition space and office in Shanghai at the Ampire Building, near the Bund.

Sotheby's have made their first foray into the wine retail market by opening their first wine store in Hong Kong.

Spink have unveiled their new Hong Kong operation, dubbed Spink China, with the first sale, focused on wines and spirits, set for August 20.

Bonhams have pledged to use their new Hong Kong headquarters to expand the territory’s traditional sales programme throughout the year.

A new auction high for Chinese porcelain was set last week when Sotheby’s sold a tiny Chenghua period ‘chicken cup’ for a hammer price of HK$250m (£21.5m) as part of their latest Hong Kong sale series.

Hong Kong’s Fine Art Asia fair organisers have announced that they will launch ‘Guardian Fine Art Asia’ (GFAA), the Beijing edition of the event, in May this year.

The importance of China as a source of new clients in the international art market has been highlighted in a business intelligence report made available to ATG by Sotheby’s.

Since the idea was first announced in March, news had gone quiet on a possible ‘TEFAF Beijing’, a collaboration between ‘TEFAF Maastricht’ and Sotheby’s Joint Venture in Beijing with GeHua.

From November 28 to December 1 Sotheby’s will hold the series of private and public sales they have dubbed ‘Beijing Art Week’. It is the largest event Sotheby’s have held in China.

The Association of Accredited Auctioneers (Triple-A), founded in 2012 by UK regional auctioneers to attract Chinese buyers, are to hold a second auction of Western antiques in China.

Sotheby’s crowned their five-day HK$4.2bn (£354.5m) sales series in Hong Kong this month with a record price for a white diamond.

Christie’s mainland Chinese debut, the First Shanghai Auction on September 26, coincided with the opening of a free-trade zone in Shanghai.

In what they are describing as a first for a global auction house, Spink are taking the significant step of locating their boss in Hong Kong.

Christie’s successfully completed their first auction in mainland China on September 26.

The London Borough of Croydon has chosen Christie’s as the auctioneers for its controversial sale of 24 Chinese works of art from its collection.

Christie’s, the first international auction house to be granted a licence to operate independently in mainland China, have announced the date of their first auction.