When you hear the words "art auction," you may somehow have an image of "a thing in which works are sold for hundreds of millions of yen and attended by the world's richest people.
In Japan, "buying" artwork may not yet be a common practice.
However, there are actually many auctions in Japan in which anyone can casually participate.
In this issue, we will introduce the history of art auctions around the world as well as familiar auctions in Japan.
What is an art auction?
History of Auctions
Art auctions have a long history. The famous auction company "Sotheby's" was established in 1744. It was the first auction company in the world that began by auctioning books.
In 1766, "Christie's" was founded by an art dealer.
These two companies are known as the "two major auction houses" and are the leaders in the global art market.
Major auction houses such as Sotheby's and Christie's have now grown to have branches in major cities around the world, holding various auctions that attract art collectors from all over the world.
The booming popularity of art auctions
In 2022, the total sales of the entire art market reached all-time highs in various places.
Christie's reported $8.4 billion (¥1,112.1 billion), a 17% increase over the previous year.
Sotheby's also set a new record with $8 billion (about ¥1.08 trillion), the highest amount since its founding 278 years ago.
The art market is now more popular than ever.
What is offered at auction
A wide variety of art works, including paintings, ceramics, and jewelry, are offered at auction. There is also a wide variety of genres, from contemporary art to classics and antiques.
How Art Auctions Work
Art Auctions - The Seller's Flow
Artworks sold at auction are works that have already been sold and owned.
The market for such works of art is called the "secondary market." Conversely, the "primary market" is the market where the artist first sells the work after it was created, such as a gallery.
Traditionally, when a collector who owns a work of art wishes to sell it, an art dealer acts as an intermediary to sell it at auction.
Nowadays, however, there are an increasing number of collectors who list their own works for sale without a dealer, and artists who sell their own works themselves. In the latter case, artists are using the market as a primary market rather than a secondary one.
Art Auctions - Flow of the Buying Side
Basically, a pre-auction viewing is held before the auction.
At this point, buyers can get a good idea of the works they are interested in before the auction day. It is also possible to examine the items in advance via the catalog.
Auction participants may participate on-site, by phone, or via the Internet.
When participating on-site, bidders indicate their intention to bid by holding up a paddle (tag) distributed at the entrance to the venue or elsewhere.
If it is difficult to participate in the auction at the venue, you can entrust the bidding to an agent provided by the auction house after informing them of the "maximum bid amount" in advance.
In addition, major auction houses also offer live auctions through a browser.
This is similar in style to watching a video, and allows participation from a remote location.
At the auction site, a minimum price is set, from which bidders gradually raise their bids, and the winning bid is determined when the highest price is determined to have been offered.
High Reliability
Auctions organized by auction houses are highly reliable because they are appraised by experts in advance.
Also, since the auction is always open, the prices are highly transparent.
Points to Note about Art Auctions
One thing to note is that auction fees are not included in the winning bid in most cases.
The final amount paid by the successful bidder is the winning bid plus a commission of about 15-20% of the winning bid plus the associated sales tax.
World Famous Auction Houses
Christie's
Along with Sotheby's, Christie's is one of the world's two largest auction houses.
Christie's handles more than 80 types of works of art, from Renaissance masterpieces to contemporary art, jewelry, watches, wine, and more, and offers top-notch works of art.
Christie's has a particularly strong reputation for pre-World War II works.
In recent years, "Salvator Mundi," a work attributed to da Vinci, was sold for 50.8 billion yen.
Founded in London in 1766, Christie's is a leading auction house in the art world with auction houses in major cities around the world including New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Geneva, Amsterdam, Rome, Milan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Bangkok.
Christie's Official Website
Sotheby's
Sotheby's is a long-established art auction house founded in London in 1744, the first in the world, and currently headquartered in New York, with offices in Europe, China, the Middle East, and other parts of the world.
Together with Christie's, it has become synonymous with auction houses.
It handles first-class art, jewelry, antiques, wine, automobiles, and other items from many countries, and is also known for its strength in contemporary art.
It was at Sotheby's Auctions that Japanese businessman Yusaku Maezawa sold a work by Basquiat for 12.3 billion yen.
Sotheby's is also active in adopting cutting-edge technology, such as holding the world's first Internet auction.
In 2019, Sotheby's will open a Tokyo office in the Imperial Hotel. Participation in world-class auctions is now closer to you while you are in Japan.
Sotheby's official website
Phillips Auctioneers
Founded in 1796 in Westminster, London.
It became famous for handling paintings from Marie Antoinette's mansion and Napoleon's household goods, and was the only auction house to hold sales inside Buckingham Palace.
It has a particularly strong reputation for auctioning vintage watches, and in recent years has also attracted attention in the field of contemporary art.
The company also focuses on the Asian market, with galleries in Hong Kong, Jakarta, Singapore, and Tokyo.
Phillips official website
Heritage Auctions, Inc.
An American-born auction house established in 1976.
It is unrivaled in the field of antique currency.
In addition to fine art, Heritage Auctions also conducts auctions in unique fields such as comic art, sports cards, URL domains, and luxury real estate.
All of the auctioned items can be viewed on the Web, and the auction house boasts a high bidding rate.
Heritage Auctions official website
Bonhams
A privately owned international auction house founded in 1793 in Covent Garden, London.
It conducts more than 400 auctions a year in 60 categories, including art, antiques, automobiles, and jewelry.
It is particularly strong in the field of vintage cars, and also has an established reputation for Asian art.
Bonhams Official Website
Famous Auction Houses in Japan
SBI Auction
Established in 2011, this art auction is run by the SBI Group.
Specializing in contemporary art, it holds auctions four to five times a year featuring both famous and young artists in the fields of painting, photography, design, and crafts.
It is also actively involved in discovering new artists and attracting new collectors to its auctions.
SBI Auction official website
Shinwa Auction Co.
Japan's first full-scale auction company, which grew out of the Shinwa-kai, an art dealer exchange founded in 1989.
It holds about 20 auctions a year, mainly of Japanese paintings, Western paintings, foreign paintings, sculptures, prints, postwar art & contemporary art, ceramics and other crafts, jewelry, and in recent years, wine and manga.
A wide range of works are handled, from works by leading artists in the art world to works with an estimated price starting at 20,000 yen, depending on the type of auction, and many collectors and art dealers participate due to the high level of transparency of transactions.
Shinwa Auction official website
Mainichi Art Auction
This is one of Japan's leading auction companies affiliated with the Mainichi Newspapers.
It is a long-established European and U.S.-style public auction that anyone can participate in.
Paintings, crafts, antiques, jewelry, watches, furniture, etc. are auctioned more than 30 times a year in a wide range of fields.
With an average of 1,200 lots per auction, there are many pieces to choose from.
The volume and turnover of items handled is the highest in the industry. The auction of jewelry and watches has a particularly strong reputation.
Mainichi Art Auction Official Website
TRiCERA ART members enjoy a variety of privileges and preferences.
- Discounts such as members-only secret sales and coupons
- Create your own collection by registering your favorite artists
- Receive updates on popular artists, exhibitions, and events
- Receive a weekly newsletter with selected art
- Personal Assessment to find out what kind of art you like.
Please register as a member for free and receive the latest information.
Free Member Registration
