The economy, we are told by those in the know, is on the mend. Property prices – apart of course from the bombed out industrial and retail sectors – have stabilized. The initial public offering market continues to boom with an expected 160 applications worth HK$300 billion this year. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po waxes lyrical about Hong Kong economical health. And even that ultimate luxury buy – the market for pricey art – bubbles with life. Both Christies and Sotheby’s, those big beasts of the global art market, enjoyed spectacular results at their recent spring auctions. Even allowing for the customary smoke and mirrors that bedevil the art market, there is no doubting the availability of abundant wealth to buy art at prodigious prices. At Christies, a painting of a vegetable – a pumpkin – by the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama achieved a mouth-watering HK$39,540,000.
It made me recollect that the everlasting problem with art is plagiarism, and the unfortunate reality that the more valuable the art, the more it will be copied. The entire market depends on two essentials – authentication and provenance.
Inevitably, disputes about the originality of art sometimes reach courts of law. Law courts in the Western world habitually accept the word of the artist who says “I painted this” or “I did not paint this.” The artist’s word is accepted as final. But courts in China can think differently.
Some years ago, a collector in Beijing who had bought, at auction, a painting by Wu Guanzhong, was later told it was a worthless copy. So he took the painting directly to Wu Guanzhong in the hope that the artist himself would confirm it was his work. But Wu Guanzhong disagreed and said it was not by him. The furious buyer then sued the auction house and demanded the return of his money. The court’s judgment may have surprised Western lawyers but goes to show a different Chinese legal mindset.
A Chinese art expert told the court that when artists deny their own work, there are typically four reasons. First, the piece is indeed a forgery. Secondly, they had average skills in their youth and are embarrassed to acknowledge early works in their later years. Thirdly, the artwork was a gift to a friend, and upon seeing it sold, they felt such dissatisfaction that they wished to deny it. Fourthly, due to the passage of time, their memory was failing and making an accurate judgment was difficult.
Based on this evidence, the art expert told the court that in judicial procedures, Wu Guanzhong cannot serve as both a witness and an appraiser. An artist cannot be both the "player" and the "referee." In other words the principle of "authenticity confirmed by the author himself" had no legal validity.
The court ruled that the personal authentication by Wu Guanzhong was invalid, thus leading to a complete financial loss for the buyer. The Beijing First Intermediate People's Court issued a judgment rejecting all claims made by plaintiff.
It gave its reasons as: the auction house had stated in the catalog that it “does not guarantee the authenticity or flaws of the auction items,” which is a common industry practice and does not constitute false advertising; the buyer voluntarily participated in the auction, knowing the disclaimer and should bear the risks; and Wu Guanzhong's personal opinion on authenticity does not constitute a legally valid judicial appraisal and was therefore not accepted by the court. Therefore, it does not matter if Wu Guanzhong said the work was fake, the law does not recognize his evidence.
The buyer then appealed to the Beijing People's High Court. A long litigation, immense mental stress, and a financial loss of 2.53 million yuan (HK$2.91 million) left her exhausted. Ultimately, the parties reached a reconciliation, ending the case via mediation. Although the specific reconciliation details were not fully disclosed, it was clear that the collector who purchased the forgery did not receive the justice she had hoped the legal system would give her.
The sad but inevitable truth is that when collectors admire works of art, they enjoy the value as much as the art.
Cheng Huan is an author and a senior counsel who practices in Hong Kong
𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓
