China

Sotheby’s has promoted Nicolas Chow to chairman of Sotheby’s Asia. He has risen through the ranks of the company as the Chinese art market has grown rapidly since he joined Sotheby’s in 1999.

Today marks Chinese New Year, heralding the year of the dog. Those born in the year of the dog are said to be loyal, honest, just and popular in social circles.

China Guardian is to open a new flagship building in Beijing this spring with auction and museum space.

Sotheby’s posted a record price for any piece of Chinese ceramics sold at auction after a rare Ru guanyao brush washer drew a 20 minute bidding battle in Hong Kong.

Failure by buyers to pay for works of art they have successfully won at auction in China remains a major problem for the industry, according to the latest report.

China is shutting a third of its ivory factories and shops, as it begins to meet the requirements of a formal ban by the end of the year.

Christie’s has opened its third premises in China with a new space in Beijing.

Over 100 exhibitors have signed up for the inaugural Hong Kong Coin Show which opens on Friday, making it one of the largest numismatic shows of the year in Asia.

The largest shareholder in Beijing’s China Guardian Auctions has also become the largest single shareholder in Sotheby’s. Cheng Dongshen, chairman and chief executive of Taikang Life Insurance, purchased $230m or 8m Sotheby’s shares across June and July and now has a 13.5% stake.

A group of 32 ancient gold ornaments have been returned to China following claims they had been illegally removed.

Berlin online auction house Auctionata set a house record when this Chinese enamel, ivory-mounted and paste-set musical and automaton clock was sold for €2.8m (£2.15m), or €3.37m including premium.

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

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.