THE Chinese economy is powering ahead and one of the results of the emergence of a class of newly wealthy Chinese is that the value of Chinese art is also soaring.

Three weeks ago we looked at Chinese railway bonds; now there is the chance to buy more traditional forms of Chinese art. Jade, porcelain and bronze will all be on sale at the Lapada fair at the Royal Academy in London from May 4 to 7. But hurry. The opportunity will not be there — or at least, not affordable — for long.

Ben Cooper, who runs a gallery in Malvery, Worcestershire, and who will be showing at the fair, says: “The Chinese are buying back a great deal of their art that had been taken to the West. The most sought- after pieces are 18th-century ceramics, but as the market dries up, they are branching into other fields.”

The porcelain can be divided into two areas: that produced for the home market and that made for exporting to Europe and the US. The Chinese are showing an increasing interest in the latter, simply because there is not a great deal of first-class 18th-century porcelain left to buy.

There are opportunities for Western collectors in figures that have been excavated from tombs. The Chinese have not wanted pieces from graves decorating their living quarters, but there are signs that this is changing.

Two recent auctions illustrate how much porcelain prices have risen over the past five years. Last year Woolley & Wallis, the auctioneer in Wiltshire, sold a blue-and-white vase for £2 million. Then Christie’s sold a blue-and-white guan jar for

£14.9 million. Mr Cooper estimates that five years ago those pieces would have fetched £100,000 to £150,000 and £300,000 to £500,000 respectively.

Collectors can enter at a low level. “You can buy a vase from the Ming period for as little as £40,” Mr Cooper says. But good 18th-century porcelain starts in the low thousands and other periods and styles are also rising in value fast. Mr Cooper recommends monochrome ceramics from the Ching Dynasty and ceramics from the Song Dynasty.

The Chinese have not really taken to Song ceramics because they are very plain. They are, however, very attractive to Western eyes and fit in well with minimalist interiors.

Another option is jade. Pieces from the Neolithic Hongshan era, the Shang Dynasty and the Han Dynasty are becoming available as more tombs are excavated. David Dowden, a dealer in London, has a jade and bronze lamp from the Han Dynasty for sale at £10,000. There is, as yet, not too much demand because the Chinese want 18th-century jade.

But it is worth noting that Japanese art enjoyed similar soaring prices in the 1980s only to plummet when Japan’s economic boom came to an abrupt halt.

VIRGINIA BLACKBURN

• Lapada: 01636 708146, www.lapadalondon.com

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