Given the global financial crisis, you’re probably putting your vacation to the more picturesque parts of Asia on hold.

Why not frame it instead?

Hanging a painting of what you otherwise would have spent a small fortune on to see in person could have lasting value beyond mere memories. In fact, given the declining prices for Asian pieces, it’s a great time to buy low for a potentially high sale later.

“As recently as May, Christie’s day sales and inaugural evening sale of Asian contemporary and 20th century Chinese art sold a record-breaking US$104.75 million,” according to China Economic Review (CER). “Just six months and a financial crisis later, half the lots in the evening sale for the same category went unsold. The total take dropped to just US$18.14 million.”

Check out some other salivating facts about the Chinese art world, courtesy of CER:

• Yue Minjun’s Execution was purchased in 1996 for US$32,000, selling in 2007 for nearly US$6 million.
• In five years, the market for contemporary Chinese art grew by 300%.
• Now, however, prices have come back down from the real of elite-only buyers.

The Chinese art industry also is more closely followed, ensuring that art is worth what is being paid by investors.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for cash buyers [of Chinese contemporary art], perhaps the best buying opportunity we’ll see in the next 10 years,” Rhea Papanicolaou, business development and communications coordinator of the Fine Art Fund told CER.

Biddingtons.com, which performs art valuations, has 9 excellent tips for buying art as a long-term investment (10+ years).

One of those points seems particularly suited to the China market: “Sensitize yourself to major trends.”

Biddingtons notes:

Global political and economic shifts are a great clue in trend spotting: In the early 80’s as OPEC’s oil-pricing power declined, prices of oriental rugs took a hit.

In the late 80’s the price of Korean antiques skyrocketed as that Tiger economy grew.

In the 90’s, the fracturing of the USSR generated good interest in Stalinist memorabilia & other tchotchkas since they marked the Cold War–an era now relegated to the history books.

Pick your political or economic scenario and build a portfolio of tangible investments around it.

Buying a torch impression on August 8, 2008 in Beijing probably wouldn’t have been a smart bet (as Biddingtons also notes “Do not buy at the top”). But if you suspect China will soon be awash in revolt given the current economic climate, perhaps you should snap up that cool painting of stoic countryside workers you recently saw on display.

Bankrate.com also has some good tips, beginning with the fact that you should like the artwork.

“Investing in art is investing in your own aesthetic,” Marion Kahan, of New York City-based Kahan Art Management, told Bankrate.com. “You have to want to live with the artwork, but you also have to educate yourself on the business end.”

That way when say, a revolt doesn’t happen, you’ve still got a pretty – if not valuable picture – to hang on the wall.

    Channel: What's Spicy     |