The auction industry has its regular business as well as its shady activities. Auction houses engage in fake bidding and selling of forged items, and industry insiders can see it clearly. The reasons why they keep silent are: first, it’s not their business; second, they don’t want to offend others. When you are invited to private auction venues, the organizers have the right to expel you, and even if you point out the issues with an artwork politely, it is not appropriate.
The famous art authentication expert Qi Gong once said that when he sees fakes at auctions, he would just quietly compliment the piece halfway through and then leave, which is a reserved way for Chinese people to avoid offending others. However, this unwritten rule is gradually being broken nowadays, as more people would expose fakes on social media and criticize them in detail. But this can be a dangerous practice, as it may offend the auction house and even threaten one’s personal safety.
The Beijing-based Jiade Auction House recently acquired two major collections, one of which is from the Xu Baiguan Collection. The Hong Kong Museum of Art has a permanent gallery dedicated to the art collection donated by the late collector Liu Zuochun, who was one of the three major collectors in Hong Kong. Another major collector is the Bei Shan Tang of the Li family, whose works are mostly housed at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The third collector is the Ho family’s Zhi Le Lou, who has recently donated a small portion of their collection to the Hong Kong Museum of Art. Among the three, the Xu Baiguan Collection can be considered the leading one in terms of Chinese paintings and calligraphy.