Hong Kong · Hong Kong
The Young Collectors Driving a Quiet Boom in Asian Antiquities
Millennials and Gen-Z bidders are reshaping the market for traditional Asian works of art, but the category's complexity demands patience and expertise.
When Zhaobo Yang acquired a palm-sized Qing dynasty bronze incense burner for £1,000 in April, it marked a departure from the dozens of works by living artists he already owned. For the 29-year-old London-based sculptor, the purchase was deliberate: he wanted something he could use daily, burning agarwood incense in it each morning. It was his first foray into Chinese antiquities after five years of studying the category.
"I wanted to start with a piece that could be embedded in my daily life," Yang explains.
Coming from a family that collects classical Chinese paintings and calligraphy, he sees antiquities as embodying his cultural heritage — and informing his contemporary practice. He describes his approach as "collecting the future," finding traces of what lies ahead in objects forged centuries ago.
Yang is far from alone. A growing cohort of younger collectors is gravitating towards traditional Asian works of art — ceramics, bronzes, crafts and artefacts — a segment that has been gaining ground quietly but decisively.
A market in ascent
The numbers tell a striking story. According to ArtTactic's China Art Market Report published in March, which tracks auction activity at Christie's, Sotheby's and Phillips in Hong Kong, traditional works of art surged 32.4% year-on-year in 2025, rising from $389m to $515m. This came even as overall auction sales dipped 2.2% to $1.38bn. The contrast with the fine art category, which contracted 32.5% from $548m to $370m over the same period, was stark.
Traditional Asian art accounted for 37.2% of Hong Kong's total auction sales last year, overtaking fine art (26.7%) for the first time since 2017. Hong Kong remains the dominant hub, representing over 80% of global sales in the category, though London, New York and Paris also play roles.
The upward trajectory has continued into 2026. During Asia Art Week in New York in March, Christie's Chinese works of art sale exceeded $34m, up more than 50% year-on-year. The house's Hong Kong Asian Art Week spring sales in April reached HK$872.2m ($111.3m), a 54% increase and the highest spring total since 2018. Chinese ceramics and works of art across three sales totalled HK$613m ($78m), up 79% and the strongest seasonal figure since 2017.
Sotheby's introduced Asian art into its Hong Kong Modern and contemporary evening sale for the first time in late March, with most lots exceeding presale estimates. Its May series of Asian works of art sales brought in HK$630m ($80.5m), with 12 pieces selling for more than HK$10m each. China Guardian Hong Kong, another key player, recorded HK$330m ($42m) at its recent auction — a seasonal record since the house established itself in the city in 2011.
A generational shift
Marco Almeida, head of Chinese ceramics and works of art at Christie's Asia Pacific, attributes the strong sales to renewed confidence in traditional collecting categories amid volatile market conditions. The categories' long-term resilience, intellectual depth and proven historical performance offer greater certainty than the speculative contemporary art market, he says. More than 80% of Christie's bidders in the category came from Asia Pacific, with Southeast Asia registering a 29% year-on-year increase in buyer numbers.
Both houses report a surge in Millennial and Gen-Z participation. Sotheby's says these age groups have accounted for more than one-third of global Asian art bidders since 2022, up from 25% previously, and doubled their spending compared with 2021. Christie's notes that 40% of new buyers for Chinese ceramics and works of art this season came from these demographics, with mainland China recording a 173% year-on-year spending increase.
Nicolas Chow, chairman of Asia and worldwide head of Asian art at Sotheby's, says the average buyer age in the category is now early 40s, with some clients as young as their late teens. Many are self-made individuals, while others come from collecting families. They approach the works "with a research-led, long-term perspective," Almeida adds.
The AI-age appeal
Chow believes antiquities hold a particular resonance in the age of artificial intelligence. Unlike digital experiences, these objects can be touched, held and, in cases like Yang's incense burner, used.
"With everything accelerating, the real luxury for people will be taking the time to slow down," he says. "You are meant to touch them."
Yet the barriers to entry remain considerable. Chow acknowledges that collecting ancient art demands far more diligence than contemporary work. Provenance, condition and quality require careful scrutiny — issues that do not lend themselves to "fast rules."
Yang, for his part, is proceeding cautiously. An advocate of Buddhist philosophy, he is planning his next acquisitions — palm-sized Buddha statues and related artefacts — but is acutely aware of authenticity and provenance concerns. "I am still learning," he says.
Whether this youthful enthusiasm translates into sustained market growth remains an open question. For now, the momentum is undeniable, but the category's complexity ensures that only the most committed collectors will endure.
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