Growing, growing and far from gone
The rise and rise of Hong Kong's stature as a key player in the international auction scene, all through the most challenging months of the pandemic, augurs well for the city's future as a pre-eminent, world-class arts hub. Joyce Yip reports.
Fast and flexible
Aside from helping to widen the international client base, the prominence of online auctions has accelerated new-found mediums like non-fungible tokens and, consequently, wider acceptance of cryptocurrency payments. A tender that was mainly limited to the sale of art - Phillips's sale of Banksy's Laugh Now back in May, for example - has trickled into other categories. For instance, bitcoins will be accepted at Sotheby's "Diamonds: The Dazzling" sale, coming up on Sept 24.
As more buyers get used to instant gratification from buying at online auctions, both buyers and sellers seem to have less time for such transactions. The result is a boom in private sales across all auction houses in Hong Kong, eating into the market share earlier enjoyed by art galleries.
