Buyers raise stakes in global antiques market

But behind the scenes, staging an auction takes months or even years of preparation, as the global network of auction houses searches far and wide for spectacular Chinese treasures.

Colin Sheaf, Bonhams' head of Asia, has been in the business for more than 40 years. He stresses that a rapid response is one of the keys to bringing in business and developing client relationships. Missing a phone call can mean a missed opportunity and the vendors going elsewhere.

"What gives me most pleasure is dealing with collectors, particularly English collectors, who have inherited fine items. They often know all the family history and how the pieces came into the family originally, so when we make the catalogue we are able to use lots of the family history about the pieces," Sheaf said.

There is also a lot of travelling involved, in the United Kingdom and abroad, to see vendors and to take part in valuation days.

Hunt said: "A sale will have about 300 pieces, so we turn away much more. I can see around 500 to 1,000 items in between seasons."

All three major auction houses are well prepared for upcoming sales and even plan years ahead.

"We worked on a collection 10 years ago that is coming to fruition now, so some collections we work on very long term with a family over many years," Hunt said.

When an item goes to an auction house, it is painstakingly examined, with discussions taking place about dating and estimates－a process that Christie's calls "hilling".

The next steps include completing the catalogue, working with specialist photographers and writing footnotes about the items, as well as looking for comparative examples, for instance to see if there have been similar objects on sale previously or in museums.

Great care is also taken over the order in which items appear in the catalogue, something that can take several days to plan.

"You want a good rhythm at a sale and you want to get a good mix and not offer too many of the same things at once," Hunt said. "It's carefully thought out."