Christie’s seemed to have lost pace against Sotheby’s in the race to get into the Chinese market. But it has powered back and now obtained a licence to operate auctions in the mainland; the first sale will be held this autumn in Shanghai. Unlike Sotheby’s, which is in partnership with the government entity GeHua, it has an independent “comprehensive auction licence”. But what the firm will not be selling is “cultural relics” – there are tight controls on antiques and antiquities such as jade, ceramics and ink paintings – which are the most high-priced works in the market.
在昔日进军中国市场的竞争中，佳士得(Christie’s)的步伐似乎落后于苏富比(Sotheby’s)。但如今它已然强势回归，获得了在中国大陆独立举办拍卖会的执照。首场拍卖会将于今秋在上海举行。与入股中国国有企业歌华集团(GeHua)的苏富比不一样的是，佳士得获得的是单独“拍卖综合执照”。但公司不会竞拍“文化遗产”——中国严格控制玉器、陶瓷以及水墨画等文物与古董的拍卖——它们是目前市场上价位最高的艺术品。
However, international works of art, wine and jewellery will be offered and, says Asian president François Curiel, “We will also be able to make private sales ... We are hoping to access Chinese collectors who do not necessarily travel abroad so much.” Asked whether this means the end of Hong Kong as a sales centre, he says: “Not at all, I don’t think it will cannibalise it at all, the market is big enough for everyone.”
但是，国际艺术品、洋酒以及珠宝将会进入拍卖名录，佳士得亚洲区总裁高逸龙(François Curiel)说：“我们也有能力举办私人拍卖会……希望能够接洽到中国藏家，他们不太出国旅游。”当被问到这是否意味着香港作为拍卖中心地位的终结，高逸龙答道：“完全不是，我觉得上海根本不会挤占香港的中心地位，如今的市场规模特别庞大，每家都有生存空间。”
Still in Asia, Sotheby’s spring sales season in Hong Kong concluded with a solid grand total of US$280m, against expectations of US$220m-US$295m (pre-sale estimates don’t include commission; results do). These figures are far from the record of US$447m set for the same series in 2011, but since then the Chinese market has cooled quite dramatically, due to a slowdown in the Chinese economy.
还是在亚洲市场，香港苏富比今春拍季完全出乎之前2.2亿美元-2.95亿美元的预估（竞拍前的预估成交额并不包括佣金，但最终成交额中包括相应的佣金），最终的总成交额为2.8亿美元，远低于2011年同期创下的4.47亿美元记录。2011年以后，由于中国经济减速，中国拍卖市场行情急剧萎缩。
At Sotheby’s, the traditional fields did well, with a tiny 17th-century ruby-red tea bowl, sold by the collector Alice Cheng, making a tidy US$9.6m. However there were some hiccups in the sale of contemporary Asian art, which made US$16.7m. According to the local art dealer Jean-Marc Decrop, “In some cases estimates were too high, and because the market has been weaker, vendors were holding off consigning. But the good things did very well: as an example, a Fang Lijun painting, “Series 1, No 4” (1990-91) made US$2.3m, despite being black-and-white, so not necessarily as immediately appealing as his more colourful works.”
在苏富比，传统物件的拍卖行情仍然不错，藏家张永珍(Alice Cheng)雅藏的一只17世纪宝石红小茶碗，依然拍出了960万美元的高价。但在总成交额1670万美元的亚洲当代艺术拍卖会上，小问题不断。香港本地艺术商让•马克•德克洛普(Jean-Marc Decrop)说：“某些拍品的预估价过高，因为行情持续走低，各大卖家都在拖延委托代售。但上乘拍品的行情十分火爆：举个例子，方力钧(Fang Lijun)创作于1990-1991年的画作“Series 1, No 4”,成交价高达230万美元， 尽管只是一幅黑白色作品，当初，这幅作品与他所创作的那些色彩艳丽的作品相比，并不被各路藏家追捧。
Still on the subject of Chinese art, a new website is being launched on Monday: Artshare.com. It will focus exclusively on modern and contemporary Asian art, and each month will present a curated exhibition of 10 works: the first will feature paintings by, among others, Yu Youhan (US$200,000) and Li Shan (US$150,000). An influential advisory committee includes Johnson Chang of Hanart TZ gallery, Pearl Lam and collectors Dominique and Sylvain Levy. China specialist Philip Dodd, who is also on the committee, says that the site “should plug into a global constituency of collectors who can’t get to Beijing.” Prices start at US$10,000 and there is a “private sales avenue” for transactions above US$100,000.
还是说说中国艺术这个话题。新网站Artshare.com正式上线，它将专注于现当代亚洲艺术，每个月将策展10幅作品：除了其他画家外，第一个月将专门展出余友涵（Yu Youhan，价位20万美元）与李山（Li Shan，价位15万美元）的作品。大名鼎鼎的咨询委员会中，就包括了香港汉雅轩画廊(Hanart TZ Gallery)老板张颂仁(Johnson Chang)、林明珠(Pearl Lam)以及收藏家西尔万勒维夫妇(Dominique and Sylvain Levy)等众多大腕。中国艺术方面的专家菲利蒲•多德(Philip Dodd)同样是委员会成员，他说该网站“应该深入接洽那些无法亲临北京的国际藏家。”网站的拍品起价1万美元，此外还设有一个“私人买卖区”，交易的艺术品起价为10万美元。
Speaking of private sales, Christie’s has a new wheeze – a nomadic “sculpture garden” to display works outside real estate developments in New York. The first is close to the firm’s Rockefeller Center headquarters at Madison and 54th Street, where the firm has placed Claes Oldenburg’s huge “Typewriter Eraser” (1976), which is being sold by private treaty. I thought the point of these transactions was confidentiality, but not so here – the piece is being touted very publicly. Christie’s explains that some transactions “we don’t communicate” and others are “open to the public”. The price is also confidential – Alexis Klein of Christie’s assures me this is legal – but hints that it is above $2.2m, which is what the piece fetched when it last sold in 2009.
谈及私人交易，佳士得推出的新举措匠心独运——在纽约各大地产建筑（经常更换展场）外设立 “雕塑园”，以展出相关雕塑作品。首次“雕塑园”活动就设在佳士得公司总部大楼外，展出克拉斯•奥尔登堡(Claes Oldenburg)创作于1976年的巨幅雕塑“打字机橡皮擦”(Typewriter Eraser，见右图)，如今该作品正通过私下协议进行销售。佳士得公司总部位于麦迪逊(Madison)与54大街(54th Street)交汇处的洛克菲勒中心(Rockefeller Center)内。我觉得这类交易的关键是信息保密，但在此处并非如此——该雕塑作品在大庭广众之下兜售。佳士得解释说有些交易内幕“不能透露”，但有些交易会“向公众公开”。具体成交价也是秘而不宣——佳士得的阿历克斯•克莱恩(Alexis Klein)一再向我保证这合乎法律——但暗示说“打字机橡皮擦”的价位肯定超过220万美元，这是2009年它上次拍卖时的价位。
This week sees Christie’s latest sale of Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish art in Dubai, held on Tuesday and Wednesday. The market for Iranian artists has been hit by trade sanctions against the country and the plunging rial, which has fallen by some 60 per cent in the past year. Its Part I sale is the smallest ever, with just 29 lots expecting up to $3.5m, while the high estimate for Part II falls just short of $2m. “Inevitably, the supply diminishes with time, as some of the artists have passed away,” says a Christie’s spokesperson, noting that the firm is “very happy” with the level of the sale. Top lot is a glittery fairytale painting by the Iranian Farhad Moshiri, “Secret Garden” (2009), estimated at $300,000-$500,000.
不久前，佳士得刚在迪拜举办了阿拉伯、伊朗以及土耳其现当代艺术拍卖会(Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish Art Sale )。由于联合国贸易禁运以及该国货币里亚尔的大幅贬值（去年一年，里亚尔的币值大约贬了60%），伊朗艺术家的市场行情大受影响。拍卖会首场拍卖成交额成为史上最低，只有29件拍卖品的成交价有望达到350万美元，而乐观估计第二场拍卖会成交额也不会超过200万美元。“由于有些艺术家已经作古，拍品供应必然是与日俱减，”佳士得某发言人如是说，并指出公司对拍品的价位“相当满意”。最高成交价的拍品是伊朗画家法尔哈德•莫欣(Farhad Moshiri)创作于2009年的作品——“秘密花园”(Secret Garden)，这是一幅反映童话故事的艳丽画作，预估价为30万-50万美元之间。
In Paris, Sarti gallery has just unveiled a show of 22 paintings in the Caravaggesque tradition, which it has been patiently accumulating over the past 10 years. “While we are principally known for gold ground paintings,” says Giovanni Sarti, “we wanted to show that our interests extend beyond that, into the 17th century and beyond.” While Caravaggio himself did not have students nor did he found a school, his influence was immense, and the exhibition includes works by his closest followers – Bartolomeo Manfredi, Giovanni Battista Caracciolo, Bartolomeo Cavarozzi – to more distant admirers such as Giuseppe Ribera, Luca Giordano, Artemisia Gentileschi, Bernardo Strozzi, Daniele Crespi and Guido Reni. Prices range from 250,000 to 2.2m; the show runs until July 12.
在巴黎，萨尔蒂画廊(Sarti gallery)刚刚展出了传统卡拉瓦乔风格(Caravaggesque)的22幅画作，它们是过去10年时间里持之以恒收藏的结果。“我们画廊以收藏金地画而著称于世，”画廊老板吉奥瓦尼•萨尔蒂(Giovanni Sarti)说，“我们想展示自己的关注焦点并不止于此，希望延伸至17世纪甚至更晚期的作品。”尽管卡拉瓦乔本人没有任何弟子，也未创立任何画派，但他的影响深远，此次展览包括了他最亲密的追随者以及一般拥趸的作品。最亲密的追随者包括了巴托洛米奥•曼弗雷迪(Bartolomeo Manfredi)、乔瓦尼•巴蒂斯塔•卡拉乔洛(Giovanni Battista Caracciolo)、巴托洛米奥•卡拉罗齐(Bartolomeo Cavarozzi)等著名画家，而一般拥趸也包括了里贝拉(Giuseppe Ribera)、卢卡•焦尔达诺(Luca Giordano)、阿特米西亚•简提列斯基(Artemisia Gentileschi)、贝尔纳多•斯特罗齐(Bernardo Strozzi)、丹尼尔•克雷斯波(Daniele Crespi)及圭多•雷尼(Guido Reni)等画家。他们作品的成交价从25万美元至220万美元不等，本次展览的截止日期为6月22日。
London galleries are expanding and moving: Victoria Miro is returning to the West End, taking on an extra space in St George’s Street, right behind Sotheby’s. The gallery said that it was “waiting to tie up things” before making an announcement. Stuart Shave has left his Eastcastle Street premises for 6 Fitzroy Square, and is opening a second space in Clerkenwell at the end of the year. And Sadie Coles is leaving her New Burlington Place gallery for a bigger space in Kingly Street, just on the other side of Regent Street. “We have been looking for over a year. We’re delighted with the quite grand building we found, which gives us much more space,” says Coles. The gallery will hold a couple of “guerrilla” soft openings in August, before launching in September with a show by the US artist Ryan Sullivan.
伦敦画廊也不断扩张、忙于变换展场：维多利亚•米罗画廊(Victoria Miro)重回伦敦西区(West End)，在苏富比拍卖行正后面的圣乔治街(St George’s Street)上另外开设了展场。米罗画廊说“把一切事情安排妥当后”方会正式公布开张消息。Stuart Shave画廊已从东堡街(Eastcastle Street)旧址搬至菲茨罗伊广场6号(6 Fitzroy Square)，并计划于年底在克勒肯维尔(Clerkenwell)开设第二个展场。萨迪•科尔斯(Sadie Coles)则正搬离自己位于新伯林顿广场(New Burlington Place)的画廊，转而在摄政王街(Regent Street)另一边的金利街(Kingly Street)寻找更大的展场。“我们已经淘了一年多时间，能找到这么宏伟的大楼，我们感到非常高兴，因为它能提供面积更大的展场，”科尔斯说。她的画廊还将在八月份举办几场非正式的试营业展览，然后在九月份举办美国画家瑞恩•沙利文(Ryan Sullivan)的作品专场展。