Today in China, collectors and investors make up 50 percent of the market, short-term speculators cover 20 percent, and another 20 percent are people who want to buy art works to offer as bribes. The remaining 10 percent includes people who use the market to launder money.
Although most auction houses will check whether an art work is genuine or not before agreeing to sell it, not all do. Auction shops often hire some industry experts to examine the work on offer, but different experts may have different opinions.
Unbeknownst to auction houses, the value of an art work may have been falsified by experts who have been bribed by investors. "In China, people have generally trusted art experts, but some have broken that trust to make profit s of their own" another industry insider charged.
"Taiwan forbids experts from the Taipei National Palace Museum to validate works for auction houses or individual collectors, but on the Chinese mainland, there are no regulations banning Chinese experts from doing this," confirmed Ma.
"Some speculators have simply contaminated the art market for the sake of profits" was how another industry insider summed up the situation, adding, "If speculators and experts cooperate there is almost no limit to the upward trend in prices."
Despite its problems it seems that the vigor of the Chinese art market is unlikely to wane in the short term. The turnover rate of the spring auction season in 2011, though may have included some counterfeits, was nearly 100 percent.
Thought many disputes plague the market, industry insiders believe their influence will not dampen the activity and many still look forward to the next auction season.
