United UK Auctioneers To Stage First Sale In China The UK Association of Accredited Auctioneers (Triple-A) are to hold a ground-breaking auction of Western fine art and antiques in China. The 900-lot sale will be held in Xiamen Freeport on April 19
News-Antique.com - Jan 25,2013 - The Association of Accredited Auctioneers (Triple-A) founded in 2012 by 19 UK auctioneers to attract Chinese buyers, are to hold a ground-breaking auction of Western fine art and antiques in China. The sale of some 900 lots will be exhibited in Beijing and Shanghai prior to the auction in Xiamen Freeport on Friday April 19, it was announced today.
“The Triple-A sale will be a unique and ground-breaking event,” said Triple-A chairman Chris Ewbank. “Apart from a charity sale in the Forbidden City in 1988 and the auction of a single sculpture in September last year, participation by Western auctioneers in mainland Chinese auctions has been impossible. There has never been a sale of Western antiques and fine art of this magnitude in China.’
“The auction market in China is an emerging phenomenon and less than 20 years old and we have learned that the Chinese government are seeking to apply some Western practices in the evolution of their regulatory framework. The Triple-A auction will introduce Chinese buyers, first hand, to the enormous range of Western antiques and collectibles we deal with on an everyday basis.”
The sale will be held in conjunction with a Chinese auctioneer and Epailive, Asia’s only on-line live bidding portal. They will promote the event directly to more than 100,000 registered members and printed catalogues translated into Chinese will also be published online.
More significantly, an escrow and foreign exchange licencing system – operated independently of Epailive – guarantees payments are made by successful bidders and can be transmitted in sterling without delays. On registering to bid in a sale, bidders are contractually required to commit funds to cover their purchases. This money is accessible to the auctioneer following the sale within 48 hours of the fall of the hammer.
The auction will feature Western antiques at inclusive price levels. Clocks and Watches; Silver; Jewellery; Pictures, to include Contemporary Art; Furniture and Works of Art and Collectors’ items will be sourced by Triple-A members and shipped to the freeport in time for the official launch of Triple-A at the British Embassy in Beijing on April 12.
Plans for the auction were laid during a six-day visit to China by Triple-A founder members who manned an exhibition stand at the Beijing International Art Fair in December. The fair attracted 50,000 visitors, including the deputy mayor of Beijing and his entourage, who stopped to speak to Triple-A members in person.
In addition to distributing promotional literature and catalogues, members gave presentations on Western Antiques and Clocks; English Furniture; Jewellery and Silver to a packed room of local collectors and dealers.
The lectures, streamed live to Epailive’s online audience, were complemented by a forum discussion involving Chris Ewbank, Stephan Ludwig and Jeremy Lamond and members of state government and the Chinese art trade aimed at creating greater understanding of Triple-A and its place in the Chinese market.
Said Jeremy Lamond: “In 2011, the Chinese Ministry of Culture estimated the Chinese art market to be worth $33 billion. Links
