In China, novel ways to fake ancient goods
Strolling through Beijing’s Panjiayuan Market, it’s easy to imagine you’ve entered an antique treasure trove. Hawkers here sell blue and white porcelain, jade trinkets and Cultural Revolution-era memorabilia. If the prices seem too good to be true, that’s because they are. In the past, it
Bringing art to the middle class in China
As the world’s top collectors, gallerists and dealers converged in Hong Kong a week ago for Art Basel, the city’s inaugural edition of one of the world’s premier art shows, a very different kind of art venture was launching in the mainland: an online platform for buying affordable
Interview:Karen Smith, Chinese art pioneer
What a difference two decades makes. When Guy Ullens, the man behind the UCCA, put part of his collection under the hammer earlier this year, collectors scrambled over each other like kids after birthday cake. Paintings went for three times the asking price, the top
China – any means to regain its treasures
It was like winning the national lottery: equally unexpected and with just as big a jackpot. Last November, a mother and son walked into a Ruislip auction house to see a vase her brother-in-law had kept on a bookcase and insured for a mere £800