In China never count out tradition. While contemporary Chinese art was all the rage for most of the naughts, the global financial crisis set off a cultural revolution among the mainland’s fledgling collectors, who placed fresh value on their own rich imperial heritage, expressed in jade, porcelain and wood furnishings. The hunger of these buyers for art is not to be underestimated. Their spending sprees since Sotheby’s and Christie’s set up shop in Hong Kong have in a few short years turned the island financial center into the world’s third-largest auction market.

Last October auction sales of the country’s traditional art fetched an impressive $HK1.3 billion ($166 million), thanks largely to mainland buyers. To see just how well these classic examples have fared despite the agitprop for China’s rising stars, we examined the prices earned by the top Chinese-art lots in Hong Kong for each year since Sotheby’s and Christie’s began holding sales there. Our research revealed that although contemporary sales briefly skyrocketed, they have since tapered to a fraction of their highs. In fact, other figures show that Chinese traditional art has emerged as one of the strongest markets globally during the recession. Of course, some collectors will eventually regain their appetite for new art. But the imminent domination of the world art market by contemporary Chinese artists no longer seems a given.