Meet The Specialist

What is your current position at Bonhams?

I am a Specialist in the Chinese Works of Art department in Hong Kong, where we hold two sales a year. Our next sale is Fine Chinese Art Introducing Beauty and Beyond: Women in Chinese Art, which will take place on 27 May.

Where are you from? And what inspired you to go into the art world?

I was born in Chongqing and moved to Hong Kong after high school. Initially, I was mostly interested in Chinese painting, but now I specialise in Chinese works of art. I myself have been painting since I was five, though at the end of high school I realised I ran a risk of ending up a poor starving artist if I were to pursue painting as a career. I must admit: I wasn’t brave and determined enough back then.

My first exposure to the auction world came when my father asked me to bid on a small object at an auction in Hong Kong on his behalf whilst I was studying at university. That's when I realised that working at an auction house was an opportunity to work with museum-level works of art rather than just looking at them from afar.

What was your first job?

After graduating from university, I joined an archaeological excavation as an assistant along a new underground line connecting Central and Shatin in Hong Kong. I worked with archaeologists from top universities around the world to preserve important historical evidence of Hong Kong’s civilisation, from the Song Dynasty to the Victorian Period. This experience completely changed my career path and study interests; it inspired me to pursue an MA in Art History and Archaeology at SOAS in London and ultimately led to my role at Bonhams.

 Name one of your triumphs.

It's too early to name triumphs; surely the best is yet to come! However, I was very pleased to be given the opportunity to lead the first-ever sale dedicated to Chinese musical instruments in auction history. It was also the first time that Bonhams Hong Kong sold antique guqins (seven-string zithers) - three of which dated from the Song and Ming Dynasties and sold for over 11 million HKD.

What has changed in your area of the business since you first started?

I joined the auction world in 2013, at the peak of the last cash wave that flooded the Chinese art market. Although there isn’t necessarily less money in the market now, established buyers have become increasingly sophisticated in their decision-making and clearer about what they want to acquire. Increasing numbers of buyers born in the 1980s and 1990s have also entered the market over the past five years and, unlike their seniors, they tend to have more diverse interests and tastes. Rather than just buying based on trends and fashions, they have balanced the market by focusing on different categories within Chinese works of art.

What is your strength as a specialist?

In my colleagues’ eyes, this is probably my ability to read Chinese characters from the Shang to the Qing Dynasty. Thanks to my training in calligraphy and etymology, I’m usually the one in Bonhams' international Chinese art department to transcribe arcane inscriptions on bronzes and other works of art into modern language.

From my own point of view, my strength as a specialist lies in my passion, knowledge, and my ability to build relationships with my clients that are grounded in trust and mutual respect.

What's exciting about your next sale?

We are very excited to present Beauty and Beyond: Women in Chinese Art on 27 May this year, which is the first sale in Hong Kong to be based on the representation of female figures in Chinese art.

Representations of women in classic Chinese art are often assumed to appear as vulnerable and foot-bound. However, such a monotonous and stereotypical portrayal of women in Chinese art is not justified: representations changed as aesthetics varied between each dynasty, and as female artists and politicians emerged. As this specially-curated sale highlights, depictions of women are fantastically varied in the art between Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Do you have a hidden talent?

Until I gave a performance for our music-themed sale, I definitely would have said it’s playing the guqin - but this talent isn't exactly hidden anymore. I also love to cook and would consider running my own restaurant if I wasn’t enjoying the auction business so much.

Which work of art has changed your life?

A late Shang Dynasty bronze gu vessel with a very arcane pictogram which I came across at a humble antique shop in Paris, whose owner refused to speak in English. After taking it back home, I found it featured in twelve publications from the late 19th to mid 20th century. As I discovered by studying the historical texts, the vessel had been owned by a family in the Shang Dynasty. It was the first time I applied etymological research skills to the study of a real archaic bronze encountered in the market. I started to realise that every piece I come across deserves proper research into its cultural value and historical lineage. A work of art may not always have much commercial value, but it always has a story to tell.

Keason Tang is a specialist of Chinese Works of Art based in Hong Kong. He can be reached at Keason.Tang@bonhams.com