Christie’s Expands Hong Kong Footprint in Hope of Art Market ‘Pickup’

A security personnel stands next to a painting titled "Nympheas" (water lilies) by artist Claude Monet during the inaugural sale at Christie's new Asia Pacific headquarters in Hong Kong, China September 19, 2024. (Reuters)

18:06-20 September 2024 AD ـ 17 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1446 AH

Christie’s Expands Hong Kong Footprint in Hope of Art Market ‘Pickup’

Auction house Christie's opened its regional headquarters in Hong Kong on Friday as its Asia Pacific chief predicted a sales "pickup" despite a global art market weighed down by wary sellers.

Christie's is the third major auction house in recent years to expand their footprint in the Chinese finance hub in a bid to woo younger Asian buyers, following rivals Phillips and Sotheby's.

President of Christie's Asia Pacific Francis Belin said the current dip in the market was due to "hesitant" consignors and "sellers being a little bit cautious".

"We are quite confident... in the second half of this year that we see a very nice pickup in our numbers," Belin told AFP.

Christie's earlier reported $2.1 billion in sales in the first six months of 2024 -- the second consecutive year of decline -- down from its 2022 peak of $4.1 billion.

China's economic slump has been cited as a key reason the art market has pulled back from its pandemic-era peaks.

But Belin said the new venue reflected the "very strong demand" from Asia with the emergence of younger collectors.

"The market is not short of buyers... Asia continues to recruit new clients, younger clients (and) Asian collectors embrace new categories," he said, adding that Hong Kong remained the "best place to transact art".

"It's a free flow of capital, free flow of merchandise, free flow of people," Belin said.

The auction house took over four floors at a new skyscraper designed by Zaha Hadid Architects located in the heart of Hong Kong's financial district, with 50,000 square feet (4,600 square meters) of exhibition and office space.

The new space will allow Christie's to bring their events in-house instead of vying for room at Hong Kong's convention and exhibition center.

Its first series of auctions set for next week includes artwork by Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet and Chinese-French painter Zao Wou-Ki.

Analysts say major auction houses are unfazed by Hong Kong's political environment even as Beijing tightens its grip on artistic freedoms.

Christie's expansion also came at a time when the city's commercial property market was at a low ebb.

The building housing Christie's, called The Henderson -- reportedly built on the world's most expensive plot of land -- was 40 percent vacant as of May, according to Bloomberg News.

Belin earlier told AFP that Christie's signed a 10-year lease at The Henderson and that the relocation would cut operating costs.

Syria's Aleppo Set for Revival Despite War Scars to its Heritage

During the four years of fighting before Assad's forces recaptured Aleppo following a devastating siege, the city was virtually emptied - AFP

Asharq Al Awsat

15:45-20 December 2024 AD ـ 19 Jumada Al-Alkhirah 1446 AH

Asharq Al Awsat

15:45-20 December 2024 AD ـ 19 Jumada Al-Alkhirah 1446 AH

Syria's Aleppo Set for Revival Despite War Scars to its Heritage

During the four years of fighting before Assad's forces recaptured Aleppo following a devastating siege, the city was virtually emptied - AFP

The historic Baron Hotel in Syria's Aleppo is dilapidated and damaged by years of war but still standing and ready for a revival, much like the city itself.

Aleppo's old city, designated a UNESCO World Heritage site, was ravaged by the conflict that erupted after a government crackdown on protests in 2011.

Between 2012 and 2016, it became a battleground between Syria's military and opposition factions.

The army of now-ousted president Bashar al-Assad shelled opposition fighters from the ground and struck them from the air, supported by Russian firepower.
Opposition groups, meanwhile, used mortars and artisanal rockets, as the fighting turned ancient streets into sniper alleys.

During the four years of fighting before the government recaptured Aleppo following a devastating siege, the city was virtually emptied.

Now, after Assad's fall following a lightning opposition offensive led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, residents are looking forward to reconstruction.

"Unfortunately, more than 60 percent of the edifices in the old city, monuments of the old city of Aleppo, were devastated to ground zero," said Georges Edleby, a tour guide in the city for 35 years.

"Hopefully there will be a day that we see them again restored."

The ancient souks where Aleppo's famed olive oil soap is piled up in stacks for sale has been reduced in many places to little more than rubble.

- 'Hope for a better life' -

Aleppo's medieval citadel, however, remains relatively intact.

Opposition fighters, one with a rose slipped into the barrel of his gun, stood guard outside the ancient ramparts, which Syria's army turned into a stronghold during the war.

Most of the damage in the citadel was caused by a 2023 earthquake, locals say.

Below in the old city, a few alleys of the souk -- once the largest in the world with 4,000 stalls -- have reopened after being restored, including with Saudi financial aid.

Jamal Habbal, 66, has spent all his life under the stone vaults of the old city and reopened his macrame and rope shop there a year ago.

"We have so many memories here. It was a big market that was vibrant and lively. Girls used to come to buy items for their trousseaus. They could find everything," he told AFP.

"And then suddenly, the crisis," he said, reluctant to even say the word war.

"We had to leave. I returned in 2018, but it's still difficult," he added, speaking in a dark and largely deserted alley.

Fadel Fadel has also reopened his shop offering souvenirs, soap and mother-of-pearl inlaid boxes.

"It was completely destroyed here," said the 51-year-old.

He is hoping to see Aleppo returned to its status as a "center of commerce, industry and tourism."

"We hope for a better life."

- Museum ready to reopen -

Outside, dusty streets wind between ruins that await reconstruction and revival.

The Baron Hotel once welcomed Agatha Christie, Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser and France's Charles de Gaulle.

Visitors flocked to see the somewhat faded glory of its rooms, as well as its terrace and the unpaid bar bill belonging to one Lawrence of Arabia.

But now, several broken windows adorned with shutters hanging from a single hinge offer a view into a deserted building covered in dust.

The hotel's future is uncertain.

Its last owner, Armen Mazloumian, has passed away. He told AFP back in 2014 that he felt the hotel's glory days were behind it and it would "never be what it once was again".

Nearby, however, the National Museum of Aleppo is readying to reopen. Its courtyard was hit in shelling but its building and collection were spared.

Director Ahmed Othman said the museum "took lessons from the experience of our neighbours," including institutions in Iraq and Lebanon.

"We took the necessary measures to protect our collections," he said.

"The statues that were too heavy to move were encased in concrete and the smaller pieces were moved to safe places."

Treasures that trace nine millennia of history and the birth of writing in nearby Mesopotamia have been preserved unharmed as a result.

"We did many things in order to protect the museum as a whole," said Othman

Christie’s Expands Hong Kong Footprint in Hope of Art Market ‘Pickup’

Christie’s Expands Hong Kong Footprint in Hope of Art Market ‘Pickup’

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Syria's Aleppo Set for Revival Despite War Scars to its Heritage

Syria's Aleppo Set for Revival Despite War Scars to its Heritage

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