Buyers raise stakes in global antiques market

Placement for viewing is also important, with all items positioned in areas that will attract attention.

A month before the sale, the catalogue is sent to bidders and reports are made on the condition of items. The auction houses then start targeting buyers for certain pieces and try to find out who will bid for a particular item.

On auction day, the auctioneer leads the sale. This includes managing bids on the floor, phone and through online bidding, and building up the atmosphere in the room.

At the end of the day, there is no rest for an auction house as it looks ahead to the next sale.

"The final hammer goes down, next morning you come in, look into the empty cupboards and think, 'Right, we have six months'," Howard-Sneyd said.

Chinese collectors are buying the finest Chinese pieces, with imperial works of art from the Qianlong period (1735-96) of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) much in demand. In June, an imperial 18th-century Qianlong vase set a record for Chinese porcelain when it sold at an auction in France for 16.2 million euros ($18.9 million).

"What collectors in China want are items made at the highest level of production quality for the imperial court," Sheaf said. "That could be porcelain, lacquer, furniture, paintings, textiles and jade.

"Chinese collectors today want the finest pieces made by the finest craftsmen for the imperial court, and that's exactly what members of the imperial family and the richest court officials wanted for the past 1,000 years.

"The Chinese emperors led taste in China, so whatever inspired the emperor, be it jade, bronze or porcelain, drove people's interest, and the new generation of rich Chinese collectors are focused on buying the best."

Hunt said: "What Christie's has seen sell extremely well is Chinese textiles, from informal ladies' robes to imperial dresses. It's a niche area I'm very fond of."