Wang Zhisen, 71, cleans a badge featuring the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong and the Tiananmen Square next to his collection of commemorative badges at his home in Nanjing, Jiangsu province June 23. Wang, who has collected more than 5,000 badges of the late leader in 50 years, will later hold a exhibition in his residential community to celebrate the upcoming 90th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC). - Reuters Photo

PARIS: China has overtaken the United States as the biggest auction market for art and collectable objects, after its sales more than doubled in just one year, according to research made public on Thursday.

A report for the Conseil des Ventes Volontaires (CVV, the French Auction Market Authority) said sales in China, including Hong Kong, grew 137 per cent in 2010 to 7.6 billion euros (10.8 billion dollars).

China now holds 34.3 per cent of global market share, compared to 24.2 per cent in 2009, said the authority, a public body that regulates the auction industry in France.

“China took third place from France in 2004” and moved into second place in 2009, overtaking Britain, said Pierre Capelle of the Noeo Conseil management consultancy in Paris, which compiled the report.

The findings concentrate on “art and collectable objects”, a field that is wider than “fine art” which comprises paintings, sculptures, drawings, engravings and photographs.

Artprice, a French specialist in the art market, declared China in March to be number one in the fine-art auction category after it realised sales of 3.1 billion dollars last year.

Noeo Conseil's findings put the United States in second place with sales worth 5.98 billion euros in 2010, up 62 per cent from the previous year, with a market share of 27 per cent.

In third place was Britain at 3.29 billion euros, up 70 per cent, and a market share of 14.9 per cent, then France at 1.4 billion euros, down eight per cent, and a 6.3 per cent share.

Overall, the worldwide auction market for art and collectable objects leaped 66 per cent in 2010, with a total value of 22.15 billion euros, according to the report, based on a survey of nearly 3,000 auctioneers.

Chinese collectors have been particularly eager to buy ancient Chinese artifacts, which have been hitting record prices in the face of a relatively shortage of available items.

In November 2010, a Chinese vase from the 18th century sold for 69.2 millions dollars at a London auction held by Bainbridges, which subsequently had trouble recovering the sum from the winning Chinese bidder.

According to the World Wealth Report 2010, there now are 477,000 collectors in China, while a study by the China Minsheng Bank claimed that Chinese spend at least 80 billion yuan (8.9 billion euros) a year on works of art.