Beijing Poly International Auction
Beijing, China; six other locations worldwide
en.polypm.com.cn
Focus: Art, wine, jewelry
In its eight years of development, Poly—founded in Beijing in 2005 by defense contractor giant China Poly Group Corporation—has become the leading Chinese auction house, scoring a turnover of RMB9 billion in 2010 and RMB12.1 billion in 2011. Last year, Poly ranked first in total turnover of Chinese art, buoyed by its strong autumn sales, featuring a 1323 Wang Zhenpeng hand scroll, which sold for RMB101.2 million ($16.2 million), and Qi Baishi’s Ode to the Mother Country hanging scroll from 1954, which brought in RMB82.8 million ($13.3 million). Aiming to expand to an international market, Poly now operates seven offices worldwide, with salesrooms in both Beijing and Hong Kong. Promising the “genuine, exquisite, and rare,” Poly offers a range of categories, including calligraphy, antiques, ceramics, rare books and manuscripts, and modern and contemporary art, as well as luxury items like jewels, watches, and wine. In 2012 the house introduced the Poly VIP department, which offers specialized services including private sales, art collecting and investment consultations, art asset management, and art exhibition and publications.
Li Yu, department of contemporary art specialist
What was the most successful auction of the past year?
Generally, we feel happy with each auction. However, it’s worth mentioning the autumn auction last year, where Yuan Dynasty artist Wang Zhenpeng’s Jiangshan Lansheng Tu resulted in RMB101.2 million, which was the highest lot in China in 2012.
What was the most exciting or surprising lot?
Liu Xiaodong’s oil painting Qingchun Gushi (“Tale of Youth”) was an impressive lot in 2012 for me.
How has the auction house changed since its founding?
Since being founded in Beijing in 2005, Poly has made real achievements, and it is one of the most profitable auction houses in China. In 2012 we launched Poly Auction in Hong Kong to serve a market other than Mainland China. Recently we opened Poly Gallery in Hong Kong for organizing exhibitions. Now we are planning to launch Poly Institute of Art to promote Chinese art and culture.
What are your plans for the next five years?
For Poly’s contemporary art department, we want to maintain our advantages in contemporary art and will be actively developing young Chinese artists and Chinese oil painting before 1978.
What artist or market should collectors watch?
Young Chinese artists are very important; their works are dynamic but not yet high in price. So there are opportunities in terms of investment.
What would you buy for your own collection if it came up at auction?
I would like to buy realistic oil paintings and young artists’ works, because the former has a mature market and the latter has potential.
