PARIS: Chinese collectors with cash to burn dominated Paris auctions in December, displaying a ravenous appetite for pieces from the country's imperial days with a focus as much on investment as nostalgia. Hotel Drouot, one of the French capital's top auction halls, recorded its top sale of the year on Dec.14 when an 18th-century Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) vase sold for 5.5 million euros ($7.2 million). The porcelain vase with the imperial mark of Yongzheng (1723-1735) had been used as a lampstand and the owners had no inkling of its true worth. It had been valued at between one million to 1.5 million euros, but a Chinese collector in the auction hall walked away with the piece far above this price. Christie's France sold a jade brush pot from the Qing Dynasty for 3.3 million euros, a record for the type of object and well over the valuation of 150,000 to 200,000 euros. At Sotheby's, a Hong Kong dealer picked up a porcelain Buddha from the reign of Qianlong (1736-1795) for 589,000 euros – more than ten times the estimated price. Nor are Asian dealers and collectors content with conducting their business by telephone bid. More often than not in Parisian auction halls, a clutch of Asian bidders can be seen, catalogues in hand. At Hotel Drouot on December 15, a group of about 15 Asian buyers attended a sale of furniture and curiosities by the Camard house. A Qing-dynasty Ruyi sceptre, with ornate wooden carvings with a Buddhist motif, was the subject of a heated bidding war. Initially estimated at up to $8,000, the winning bidder paid 64,000 euros, before being applauded heartily by his compatriots. “The Chinese are hungry for art works from their country, which the Cultural Revolution denied them,” said Francois de Ricqles, the president of Christie's France. The Cultural Revolution, which lasted from 1966 until Chairman Mao Zedong's death in 1976, witnessed a massive campaign of destruction of China's heritage. – Agence France
