Asia

Sotheby’s has moved its Modern Art evening sale and Contemporary Art evening and day auction to New York from Hong Kong following the spread of coronavirus.

Bonhams and Sotheby's have postponed Asian art auctions during New York’s Asia Week until June.

The outbreak and spread of the coronavirus has forced art fairs and auctions to postpone and cancel in light of the increasing seriousness of the situation.

Sotheby’s has added its weight to the art market’s response against President Donald Trump’s imposition of import tariffs on Chinese works of art in the US.

Christie’s has been praised for its stance on US tariffs on Chinese art after it became the first art market firm to seek exclusion from the tax, part of the ongoing trade war between the US and China. Late in October, Christie’s applied for exemption from a “punishing” import tax on seven types of Chinese art.

The management of Masterpiece has unveiled the dealers who will participate in a showcase that replaces the planned 24 stands at Fine Art Asia (October 4-7) in Hong Kong because of continuing public unrest in the city.

The organisers of Fine Art Asia and Masterpiece have confirmed the event, featuring Masterpiece's debut presence in the Far East, will proceed in Hong Kong in October, despite the city's anti-government protests in recent weeks.

Chinese art and antiques are part of a new list of $300bn-plus of imports drawn up by President Trump’s administration in the country’s escalating trade war with China, ATG understands.

Sixty-four percent of Chinese art collectors bought Western European modern and contemporary art in the past five years according to a survey conducted for the TEFAF Art Market Report which was presented at the fair as the doors opened for the second preview day.

The Masterpiece fair brand will be trialled in Hong Kong later this year with a ‘pavilion’ within the Fine Art Asia fair.

An exceptionally rare Western Zhou bronze, taken when the Summer Palace was sacked by British troops in 1860, has been returned to China.