Flute Player by Chen Yifei.

By Wu Ziru 

Seen as the barometer of a country's economy, the ups and downs of art markets are always closely observed. The results of China's first autumn art auctions appear inspiring, as news of record-breaking prices hit the headlines.

Auction giant Beijing Hanhai Art Auctions concluded three days of successful sales Wednesday, signaling that China's art market is well on its way to recovery.

Among the works put up for sale by Hanhai, ranging from antiques, jade, traditional Chinese painting and furniture to modern painting and sculpture, renowned Chinese modern artist Chen Yifei's (1946-2005) oil painting Flute Player had been the center of talks by both collectors and art lovers. It went under the hammer Tuesday fetching an extraordinarily high 32.48 million yuan ($4.76 million), far beyond its expected price of 20 million yuan ($2.94 million), which was already considered sky-high.

Flute Player was created during Chen's stay in the US in the 1980s and is widely seen as one of the Chinese Realist master's representative works. The painting features a beautiful American girl playing Chinese music on a flute, projecting an overwhelming sense of tranquility as well as a gentle sadness from her face.

Flute Player's combination of traditional Chinese aesthetics and Western oil painting techniques shocked the international art world soon after it was finished and was widely praised as the perfect union of Realism and Romanticism. Another piece at Hanhai's auctions was a traditional Chinese landscape painting by famous Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) painter Jin Tingbiao. It sold for 34.72 million yuan ($5.1 million), nearly four times its expected price.

As a court painter particularly appreciated by Emperor Qianlong (1711-99), Jin made great achievements in the fields of both landscape painting and the painting of beautiful women and flowers, later known as Chinese Court Painting. In the auctioned piece were Qianlong's five stamps as well as a poem created and written by the emperor.

While the first of China's autumn auctions have registered positive results, many of the larger auctions, from houses such as China Guardian, Beijing Council International and Beijing Poly are still to come. An overwhelming majority of those in the art-auction world are now tipping a large-scale recovery of the art market.

"Undoubtedly the outcomes of this year's autumn auctions will be far better than last year," said collector Hua Yuzhou, owner of Hwa's Gallery in Shanghai. "After all, people around the country are saying that economic recovery is on the way."

Tian Kai, director of the Oil Painting and Sculpture Department of Beijing Huachen Auction House expressed his confidence in the market's recovery.

"We have many reasons to be optimistic, for example, the steady support from local collectors," Tian explained, adding that Chinese traditional paintings and modern oil paintings will be the two most popular items, his prediction in line with the outcome of Hanhai's auctions.

  
Qing Dynasty coins and vase.

Huachen's autumn auction will be held next Friday, with its photography section reappearing after an absence during their spring auction, widely considered as a result of the economic recession.

Altogether 176 pieces of photography will go under the hammer, with prices expected to amount to 5.32 million yuan ($780,469), relatively high in the photography world, according to Li Xin, director of Huachen's Photography Department.

Another highlight of this year's autumn auctions is expected to be modern paintings with subjects on New China.

China Guardian, Beijing Poly and Shanghai Duoyunxuan Auction House all have the genre well represented. The wide range of works include Wu Guanzhong's Scenery of the North, Chairman Mao in Steel Plant by Jin Shangyi and ink painting Chinese People Have Stood Up by Jiang Zhaohe.

Despite of the confidence in many sectors, experts are not so optimistic toward Chinese contemporary art.

Hua explained that after the recent hard times, the Chinese art market will be calmer than before, with collectors seeking sound investments rather than chasing unknown talent.

"Collectors like me will be more cautious when buying new works and classic pieces with potential for steady price increases will be among the most chased," he added.

"What we will focus on in this year's autumn auction is old works," agreed Meng Luxin, project manager of the Oil Painting Department of China Guardian, adding that this year's Guardian autumn auction would not include a Chinese contemporary art section.

"The bubble of the Chinese contemporary art market needs time to burst," Meng added. "At least up until now there are few clear clues indicating contemporary art's recovery."

Li Jianguang, collector and owner of several galleries in Beijing, also expressed conservative speculations on the contemporary art market. "For the recovery of contemporary art, I think at least another year is needed."

"At least, buyers will be more cautious when buying contemporary work, as they have witnessed wild fluctuations during the past years," Li added.