US EUROPE AFRICA ASIA 中文
    Culture

    Waiting for a rebound that may never come

    By Zhao Xu and Zhang Kun ( China Daily ) Updated: 2016-07-26 07:57:27

    Waiting for a rebound that may never come

    A customerless vendor is in a daze. [Photo by Zou Hong/China Daily]

    As an auctioneer-cum-researcher, Ji Tao not only witnessed but participated as China's art and antiques market reveled in an unprecedented upsurge in the spring of 2011. "There were a lot of people and a lot of carousing. Anything that appeared at auction sold quickly, sometimes at jaw-dropping prices," he recalled.

    The high was followed by a low as the bubble burst in the autumn of the same year. Five years later dealers are still waiting for it to rebound.

    "The previous spell of gloom arrived in about 2006 and lasted for three years before things started to pick up in the spring of 2009. Now, five years have passed (since the start of the last market decline), and we are still hoping," Ji said.

    He blamed an insane buying fever before the downturn for undermining the market. "Wealth accumulated in other sectors of the economy was flowing into the art and antiques market, fueling a misguided enthusiasm that ultimately boded ill for the future," he said.

    However, not everyone was hit equally hard, and some people escaped relatively unscathed, according to Ji.

    "They include the people who bought the 'cream', those who collected at the very top of the antiques-trading pyramid," he said. "The value and rarity of those precious items means they will easily weather the current market storm, only to become more sought-after in years to come."

    This is where Ji believes the biggest misconceptions about collecting lie among nonprofessionals. "It would be na?ve for anyone to equate buying any old antique with collecting and, therefore, investing. Some things may be genuinely old; for example, a little silver hairpin from 100 years ago, but there are so many of them that they have ceased to have any real value as collectible pieces," he said. "Like any other area of investment, only wealth can produce wealth. It's perfectly OK to buy a little silver hairpin for personal appreciation, but don't have any illusions when it comes to returns."

    Yang Zhenbin, from the State-owned Suzhou Municipal Antique Store, believes the market downturn has had a sifting effect, which will result in credible dealers eventually surfacing as winners. "Like all State-owned antique stores with a long history, we ensure the authenticity of our merchandise-something that discerning clients definitely appreciate," he said, referring to the crowds that turned up at an antiques fair the store organized in the city on June 30 and July 1.

    The Suzhou store also offers free connoisseur consultations for members of the public every month or so, partly to maintain its reputation as an authoritative establishment and partly to increase sales. It also provides training courses for industry insiders and dedicated lovers of antiques.

    Wang Ge, an antiques dealer who recently opened a store in Beijing, said the overheated market needed to have a metaphorical bucket of ice poured over it: "People's sense could only be restored once they started to lose money. I'm not saying that people should stop buying-just try to buy things you love so much that selling is not a priority."

    Related:

    Market meltdown leaves antiques dealers on the shelf

    The new generation

     
    Editor's Picks
    Hot words

    Most Popular
     
    ...
    亚洲av无码乱码国产精品| 精品三级AV无码一区| 无码少妇一区二区性色AV| 精品久久久无码人妻中文字幕豆芽| 无码无套少妇毛多18PXXXX| 91中文在线视频| 精品久久久无码中文字幕天天| 中文字幕无码播放免费| 日韩亚洲不卡在线视频中文字幕在线观看 | 色综合久久无码中文字幕| 久久男人中文字幕资源站| 中文日韩亚洲欧美字幕| 国产精品无码一区二区在线| 无码人妻一区二区三区兔费| 日日日日做夜夜夜夜无码| 天堂最新版中文网| 今天免费中文字幕视频| 中文无码熟妇人妻AV在线| 久久人妻少妇嫩草AV无码蜜桃| 中文无码久久精品| 在线看片福利无码网址| 国产中文字幕乱人伦在线观看| 亚洲国产精彩中文乱码AV| 中国少妇无码专区| 无码视频在线播放一二三区 | 久久人妻少妇嫩草AV无码蜜桃 | 亚洲熟妇无码八V在线播放| 精品无码AV无码免费专区| 无码人妻AⅤ一区二区三区| 亚洲AV无码成人精品区在线观看 | 亚洲AV永久无码精品水牛影视| 少妇无码AV无码一区| 中文字幕手机在线观看| 久久无码AV中文出轨人妻| 无码人妻精品一区二区蜜桃网站| 欧美日韩中文字幕久久久不卡| 天堂√最新版中文在线天堂| 午夜无码中文字幕在线播放| 中文字幕精品久久| 国产av无码专区亚洲av果冻传媒| 亚洲国产a∨无码中文777|