China's wealth welcome in antiques world
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GT: How about the use of government funds for the repatriation of items of cultural and historical significance?
Hyams: I thoroughly approve. I am glad that China has become very rich and can now afford to buy items of the people's past. It is also wonderful for me as that means that there is a good market from my clients from the fruits of going out treasure-hunting.
I get to visit clients' homes and see their collections. Some of the big collections will later be donated to museums and so forth. If China was short of money then there would be better things to do with the money. But China is not short of cash at the moment, so yes, I thoroughly approve.
GT: Record prices are being paid for Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) porcelein. Is this producing a price bubble, driven by irrational bids from Chinese people? If so, has this also disturbed the wider auction market?
McKillop: I think it's just one of the interesting things that happen in the art market. The price of objects follows world economic changes.
Nowadays China is a very wealthy country. There are some very wealthy people in China. So the prices of porcelain, which is imperial and which is appealing to some Chinese collectors, have risen to an extraordinary level. Huge, huge levels.
But that's what you expect to see, because the art market tracks the world economy. In the past such objects could never have raised such an enormous price but now that China has so many wealthy individuals, these objects are worth so much more.
Hyams: Of course the people of every country that has produced works of art are interested in their national heritage and there are many museums as well as collectors, in these countries, who try to buy the best of these articles when they come on to the market.
This desire to own good pieces is not therefore confined to the Chinese. The antique business is, and will always be, an international one, and 10 years ago it was the Japanese who were buying Van Gogh paintings for $80 million, as well as fine Chinese and Japanese objects.
Now it is the turn of the Chinese, who are free to do whatever they want with their money. They too will soon be buying the best French impressionists, rare European works of art, and anything else they fancy.
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