A year of reassessing

Art spending in China slows in 2014 as collectors seek masterworks at home and abroad, Deng Zhangyu reports.

Although deals in the Chinese mainland art market shrank a little in 2014 compared to last year, the continuing strong demand for masterpieces of antique paintings and scrolls, Chinese collectors' rise on the international stage and diversified auctions are all sustaining hope in the growth of the art market.

Sales in auction houses in China from January to September totaled 15.3 billion yuan ($2.5 billion), says Ouyang Shuying, deputy general-secretary of the China Association of Auctioneers. With autumn auctions ringing down the curtain, major houses like China Guardian and Poly that represent more than half the art market have seen an average 20-percent drop in sales.