尋覓真品：中國藏家全球網(wǎng)羅遺失文物

LONDON — Perceptions of the art market can often be shaped by the huge prices paid for work by the West’s most famous painters and sculptors. But there is another culture that can also inspire spectacular sales.

倫敦——我們對(duì)藝術(shù)市場(chǎng)的觀感，常常是由西方最著名畫家、雕塑家作品的高昂價(jià)格來定義的。但是，另一種文化也可以激發(fā)驚人的銷售額。

Last month, at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong, a Chinese 18th-century Imperial porcelain “poppy” bowl sold for $21.6 million. At the same auction, an elaborately decorated “fish” vase, also thought to be of Imperial provenance from the Qianlong era, raised $19 million.

上個(gè)月在香港蘇富比(Sotheby’s)拍賣行，一件18世紀(jì)的中國皇家御制“虞美人”彩瓷盌以2160萬美元的價(jià)格成交。在同一場(chǎng)拍賣會(huì)上，一件也被認(rèn)為屬乾隆年間御制瓷器的華美吉慶有余花瓶則以1900萬美元成交。

Buoyed by a surging economy, Chinese dealers and collectors have since the mid 2000s been bidding formidable sums for the finest artworks from their country’s past. But in recent years, as China’s economic growth has slowed, the market for its antiques has become less frothy.

受經(jīng)濟(jì)增長的鼓舞，中國經(jīng)銷商和收藏家自2000年代中期開始一直在為他們國家過去的精美藝術(shù)品出高價(jià)。但今年來，隨著中國經(jīng)濟(jì)增長放緩，古董市場(chǎng)開始沉穩(wěn)起來。

Just under half the 299 lots offered in Sotheby’s fall series of Chinese works of art sales in Hong Kong managed to find buyers. The Qianlong “fish” vase was marketed by the auction house as the rediscovered pair of another that was bid to an extraordinary 51.6 million pounds, then about $83 million, at a small auction house in London in 2010. The Beijing-based bidder never paid for that vase, and it was sold privately in 2013 to another buyer for $32 million to $40 million. The $19 million bid in Hong Kong for its supposed partner fell well short of that.

香港蘇富比中國藝術(shù)品秋拍的299件拍品中只有不到一半找到了買家。在對(duì)乾隆吉慶有余瓶的宣傳中，拍賣行稱它與2010年在倫敦一家小拍賣行拍出天價(jià)5160萬英鎊的花瓶原屬一對(duì)，如今重現(xiàn)人間。當(dāng)時(shí)那名北京的投標(biāo)方始終未為該花瓶付款，2013年花瓶被私下賣給了另一個(gè)買家，售價(jià)在3200萬美元到4000萬美元之間。這只據(jù)信為一對(duì)中“另一半”的花瓶此次在香港拍出的1900萬美元，要比之前的價(jià)格低很多。

“People are very picky,” said Kate Hunt, a senior specialist in Chinese art at Christie’s in London, which held an auction on Tuesday as part of “Asian Art in London,” an annual series of exhibitions, auctions and lectures.

“人們非常挑剔，”倫敦佳士得(Christie’s)中國藝術(shù)資深專家何玉清(Kate Hunt)說，這家拍賣行周二舉辦了一場(chǎng)拍賣會(huì)，屬于名為“亞洲藝術(shù)在倫敦”(Asian Arts in London)的年度系列展覽、拍賣會(huì)與講座中的一部分。

Reflecting the selectivity seen in Hong Kong, the sale at Christie’s raised £8.7 million, selling just over half of the 320 lots.

佳士得的這場(chǎng)拍賣拍得870萬英鎊，320件拍品成交的將將超過一半，反映了香港市場(chǎng)的挑剔。

“Prices stopped bubbling in 2015,” said Ms. Hunt, referring to the year that China’s stock market plunged. She added that Beijing’s recent tightening of money outflows had made it difficult for Chinese buyers to pay for top lots at auctions in Europe and America. “But the market has matured,” Ms. Hunt said. “And the Chinese love old English provenances.”

“價(jià)格泡沫在2015年破裂了，”何玉清提到了中國股市暴跌那一年。她還說，北京最近縮緊資金流出，使得中國買家很難在歐美拍賣會(huì)上為頂級(jí)拍品買單。“但市場(chǎng)已經(jīng)成熟，”她說。“并且中國人喜歡東西有老英國出身。”

With their own market awash with forgeries, the Chinese look to Europe for pieces with ownership histories that guarantee authenticity.

隨著自己國家的市場(chǎng)充斥偽造品，中國人向歐洲尋求那些有真品保證，且歷史上歸他們所有的藝術(shù)品。

Christie’s live sale in London included 24 pieces from the collection of Soame Jenyns, a renowned scholar of Oriental art, who worked as a curator at the British Museum from 1931 to 1968. This was an alluring provenance for the Chinese dealers who crowd these London sales, and there were plenty to be found in town this week, shining flashlights into bowls and vases, and taking photographs with their cellphones.

倫敦佳士得的現(xiàn)場(chǎng)拍賣包括了來自著名東方藝術(shù)學(xué)者詹寧斯(Soame Jenyns)的24件收藏，詹寧斯于1931至1968年擔(dān)任大英博物館(British Museum)策展人。對(duì)于涌入這些倫敦拍賣會(huì)的中國經(jīng)銷商來說，這是一個(gè)誘人的出處，并且，本周在該城有很多拍賣會(huì)有待發(fā)現(xiàn)，他們用手電筒照射著瓷碗和花瓶，用手機(jī)拍攝照片。

The star of the collection was undoubtedly a 15th-century gilded bronze seated Buddhist figure, estimated at £150,000 to £200,000. Remarkable for the quality of its casting and for the rare survival of its original sealed base, the piece topped the sale with a price of £1.9 million to an Asian bidder, according to Christie’s.

該系列拍品中的明星無疑是一件15世紀(jì)的鍍金青銅佛坐像，估價(jià)15萬至20萬英鎊。據(jù)佳士得稱，這件拍品的亮點(diǎn)在于鑄造的品質(zhì)，此外還罕見地保住了原有的密封底座，它以超過190萬英鎊的全場(chǎng)最高價(jià)拍給了一位亞洲競(jìng)拍者。

Roger Keverne, a dealer exhibiting at “Asian Art in London,” was in the salesroom. “Two of my Chinese clients asked about the piece. They’ve been revving up on Buddhism for a while,” Mr. Keverne said. “The Cultural Revolution tried to wipe it all out. Now they want to appreciate that culture. It’s a repatriation thing.”

在“亞洲藝術(shù)在倫敦”布展的經(jīng)銷商羅杰·凱弗恩(Roger Keverne)當(dāng)時(shí)在拍賣現(xiàn)場(chǎng)。“我的兩位中國客戶詢問了這件東西。他們做復(fù)興佛教的事已經(jīng)有一段時(shí)間了，”凱弗恩說。“文化大革命企圖徹底消滅它。但他們現(xiàn)在想要提升這種文化。這是一種回歸。”

Chinese buyers have recently found an appreciation of the rarefied field of Buddhist sculpture, an example of which reached an auction high of $30 million in 2014. The enthusiasm might be viewed as a sign of what Ms. Hunt, the Christie’s specialist, identified as maturity in the market.

中國買家近年開始關(guān)注佛教造像這個(gè)冷僻的領(lǐng)域，2014年這種雕像曾創(chuàng)下3000萬美元的拍賣紀(jì)錄。這種熱情在佳士得專家何玉清看來是市場(chǎng)成熟的表現(xiàn)。

Giuseppe Eskenazi, founder of Eskenazi, one of the 43 dealerships participating in “Asian Art in London,” said he had been buying Chinese Buddhist sculpture since 1972.

參加“亞洲藝術(shù)在倫敦”的43家經(jīng)銷商之一埃斯卡納齊(Eskenazi)公司創(chuàng)始人朱塞佩·埃斯卡納齊(Giuseppe Eskenazi)說，他從1972年開始就在購買中國佛教造像了。

“I was selling it mostly to English and American collectors, and to museums,” Mr. Eskenazi said. “There was a lack of appreciation in China. It just didn’t register. But now younger Chinese collectors bow in front of it.”

“我主要賣給英國和美國的藏家，也賣給美術(shù)館，”埃斯卡納齊說。“它在中國沒有人欣賞。不受重視。但現(xiàn)在年輕的中國藏家迷戀它。”

Eskenazi has recently sold an imposing Song dynasty wooden Buddhist sculpture to the Louvre Abu Dhabi. The piece was priced in a 2014 exhibition in the gallery at $25 million. This week, the gallery was offering works made during China’s fractious “Six Dynasties” period from the third to the sixth centuries, collected over four decades by the Hollywood talent agent Norman Kurland.

埃斯卡納齊最近將一件威嚴(yán)的宋代木刻佛像賣給了阿布扎比盧浮宮。這件文物在畫廊2014年的一次展覽中標(biāo)價(jià)2500萬美元。本周，該畫廊展出了中國歷史上的混亂時(shí)期魏晉南北朝(3世紀(jì)～6世紀(jì))的文物，它們來自好萊塢的藝人經(jīng)紀(jì)人諾曼·庫蘭(Norman Kurland)四十余年的收藏。

With its emphasis on terra cotta tomb figures — which Chinese people traditionally regard as inauspicious to own — and serene stone Buddhist sculpture, the Kurland collection could be viewed as reflecting a scholarly Westerner’s taste, but there were plenty of Chinese admirers at the Monday night viewing. By Wednesday, the gallery said that several of the 38 pieces had sold to Chinese collectors, including three Buddhist objects. Among those was a sixth-century limestone bust of the Buddha, priced at more than $1 million.

庫蘭的收藏主要集中在陶俑——傳統(tǒng)上，中國人認(rèn)為擁有陶俑是不吉利的——以及安詳?shù)氖谭鸬?，可以被視作一種偏西方學(xué)者的口味，但在周一晚上的觀展活動(dòng)中，有許多中國人慕名而來。畫廊方面表示，截至周三，38件展出文物當(dāng)中已經(jīng)有數(shù)件賣給了中國藏家，包括三件佛教文物。其中有一尊6世紀(jì)的石灰石半身佛像，售價(jià)超過100萬美元。

Other London dealers held thematic exhibitions. Priestley & Ferraro mounted a show of 20 Chinese artworks featuring elephants. The animals are a protected species in Yunnan Province and have long been revered in Chinese culture for their perceived steadfastness.

倫敦其他的文物經(jīng)銷商也舉辦了各種專題展覽。覺是軒(Priestley & Ferraro)展出了20件以大象為主題的中國藝術(shù)品。在云南，這些動(dòng)物是保護(hù)物種，長期以來，它們因堅(jiān)定穩(wěn)重的品質(zhì)而一直受到中國文化的推崇。

Among the show’s less expensive items, a difficult-to-date but charming inkstone carved with an elephant quickly sold at £15,000.

在該展覽一些價(jià)格沒有那么貴的文物中，一件年代不詳、刻有大象圖案的美麗硯臺(tái)迅速以1.5萬英鎊的價(jià)格售出。

“The usual dealers are here, but there isn’t as much for them to buy,” said David Priestley, co-founder of Priestley & Ferraro. Mr. Priestley added that the supply of high-quality Chinese artworks was being progressively depleted by the “vacuum cleaner that is China sucking the goods out of Europe.”

覺是軒的聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人戴維·普里斯特利(David Priestley)說：“常見的交易商都在這里，但他們可買的東西不多。”他還說，“中國這臺(tái)吸塵器正在把東西從歐洲吸走。”

With the United States no longer threatening to impose a 25 percent import tariff on Chinese antiques — a move that could have benefited Europe’s art trade — London is faced with ever-diminishing supplies of quality pieces.

隨著美國不再威脅要對(duì)中國古董征收25%的進(jìn)口關(guān)稅——此舉可能有利于歐洲的藝術(shù)品貿(mào)易——倫敦高品質(zhì)古董供應(yīng)越來越緊張。

Repatriated Chinese antiques generally don’t come back. Those pieces that do arrive in Britain from China are often not what they seem, according to John Axford, an Asian art specialist at Woolley & Wallis, a British auction house.

回歸中國的古董通常很難再回來。英國拍賣行威立士(Woolley & Wallis)的亞洲藝術(shù)專家約翰·埃克斯福德(John Axford)說，那些從中國來到英國的文物，往往真假難辨。

“You’ve got to be ever so careful. There are lots of duds out there with ‘old’ labels and receipts,” said Mr. Axford, brandishing a Song dynasty Qingbai porcelain bowl, estimated at £2,000-£3,000, at the London viewing for a coming sale at his auction house. From a Spanish collection, the bowl had a label and receipt from the New York dealer James Lally. Among the many calls and emails he made to verify the authenticity of the objects, Mr. Axford phoned Mr. Lally, who confirmed that the Qingbai bowl was an “old friend” from his stock.

“你必須非常小心才行。有很多贗品都有“古老”的標(biāo)簽和收據(jù)，”?？怂垢Ｌ卦谕⑹坑趥惗嘏e行的拍賣前的預(yù)展上說，他展示了一只宋代青白瓷碗，估價(jià)在2000到3000英鎊之間。這件文物來自一個(gè)西班牙的藏家，帶有紐約交易商詹姆斯·勞利(James Lally)的標(biāo)簽和收據(jù)。為了辨明真?zhèn)?，?？怂垢５麓蛄嗽S多電話，發(fā)了許多電子郵件，他給勞利打去電話，對(duì)方證實(shí)了這個(gè)青白瓷碗是其藏品中的“老朋友”。

“ ‘Real’ is the hard part,” Mr. Axford said.

“‘確定真假’是最難的部分，”?？怂垢５抡f。