Lovers of Chinese art are holding their breath for the China Guardian Arts Auctions Co show of more than 4,000 ancient and contemporary works it has collected for its spring auction.

The auction, which will be held on May 15, 16 and 17 at the Kunlun Hotel in Beijing, has a preliminary public viewing at the hotel on May 12, 13 and 14.

The annual event of the prestigious auction house has caught the attention of art circles around the world.

It is regarded as an indicator of the art market in China, which is growing at an incredible speed.

Last year the company took in 500 million yuan (US$60 million) at its spring auction, with a number of record prices being paid for 20th-century Chinese artists' works.

"The prices of traditional Chinese calligraphy works and paintings in the Beijing market have caught up with or even exceeded those at the Hong Kong, New York and London markets, while prices of ceramics, furniture and jewellery still lag behind," said Kou Qin, vice-general manager of the auction house, after last year's round of autumn auctions.

Kou said the company expects an even better performance this spring.

He rejected the popular saying that booms in the Chinese art market are largely bubbles and that there will be a sudden collapse within the decade, just as there was in the Japanese and South Korean markets in the 1990s.

"Our survey of bidders last year shows that a number of Chinese collectors tend to hold the artworks a long time rather than trading them frequently.

"Their maturity reduces risks in the market," he said.

Catering mainly to Chinese collectors, the auction puts a lot of emphasis on traditional Chinese calligraphy and paintings.

The more than 1,000 works it has brought together, all created by master artists, include 91 by Qi Baishi (1863-1957), 37 by Wu Changshuo (1844-1927) and 58 by Zhang Daqian, who was also known as Chang Dai-chen (1899-1983).

Among them, a 12-panel screen painted by Wu Changshuo between 1915 and 1916 gathers the artist's favorite subjects, including the plum tree, bamboo, lotus, peony and narcissus.

Of those to go under the hammer many have been consigned by overseas collectors, said Hu Yanyan.

Hu is in charge of collecting traditional paintings and calligraphic works for the auctioneer.

Among the ancient works, three are from the royal collection of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), although only one of them was recorded in the royal collection index "Shiqu Baoji."

"It's getting more and more difficult to find works from 'Shiqu Baoji,"' sighed Hu.

More than 300 ceramics, jade artifacts and other handicraft works are to appear in the second section of the auction.

A real eye-catcher is the 17-metre-long, 30-centimetre-wide piece of kesi (woven silk), which was in the royal collection of the Qing Dynasty and has been consigned for auction by an overseas collector.

The piece, woven at the order of Emperor Qianlong (reigned 1736-1795), has on it almost all at that time known masterpiece calligraphic renderings of the poem "Lanting Xu" (Ode to the Orchid Pavilion).

It was written by calligrapher and poet Wang Xizhi, who lived in the 4th century (321-379 or 303-361).

Its estimated price is available on request from the auctioneer.

There's also much to be seen in Chinese oil painting, ancient book, and stamp and coin sections of the auction.

The families of a number of senior collectors, many of whom have passed away in the past 10 years, are consigning their collections.

Estimated prices of many of the artworks are much higher than those for similar works last year.

(China Daily April 30, 2004)