Hangzhou, November 25, 2026 – The highly anticipated Xiling Yinshe 2026 Autumn Auction recently concluded successfully. This autumn auction continued Xiling Yinshe's consistent strategy of featuring exquisite items, with the “Scholars' Objects and Jade Special Session” performing particularly well. The total transaction value reached RMB 185 million, with a high sell-through rate of 92.3%, representing a 15% increase compared to the same period last year, demonstrating the continued resilience and growth potential of the high-end jade scholars' objects market.
This special jade session presented a total of 120 lots, covering various elegant scholars' objects from ancient jade to Ming and Qing dynasty jade carvings. Among them, a Qing Dynasty Qianlong white jade 'Fu Shou Shuang Quan' (Blessings and Longevity) brush pot sold for an astonishing RMB 38 million, far exceeding its pre-auction estimate (RMB 25-30 million), becoming the highest-priced lot of the session. The brush pot featured fine and warm jade, exquisite carving, and auspicious symbolism, attracting fierce bidding from several important collectors. Another Ming Dynasty Hetian jade 'Scholar Under Pine' mountain carving was hammered at RMB 18.5 million, with a premium rate of 35%, fully reflecting the market's pursuit of exquisite literati jade carvings.
From the data, the average unit price of this autumn auction was RMB 1.5417 million, an increase from RMB 1.3 million in the 2025 autumn auction. The performance of high-priced lots was particularly outstanding, with 5 lots exceeding RMB 10 million, accounting for over 45% of the total transaction value. This indicates strong market demand for rare, high-quality, and well-provenanced jade scholars' objects, and collectors are willing to pay a higher premium for them.
Mr. Zhang Ming, General Manager of Xiling Yinshe Auction Co., Ltd., stated in an interview: “The success of this autumn auction's jade scholars' objects session once again confirms the profound heritage of the Chinese traditional cultural art market. We have observed that collectors are paying increasing attention to the material, craftsmanship, cultural connotations, and provenance of jade. Especially those elegant scholars' objects that combine practicality with artistry, their value is being re-evaluated and enhanced by the market.”
Professor Li, a senior jade appraisal expert and director of the China Cultural Relics Society, analyzed: “The current jade scholars' objects market shows a trend of polarization. On the one hand, the prices of top-tier, historically and culturally valuable, and artistically collectible exquisite jade pieces are still steadily rising, even reaching new highs; on the other hand, ordinary quality or less distinctive jade pieces face certain market pressure. This requires collectors to pay more attention to quality and rarity when investing. In the next few years, we expect this trend to continue, the collection threshold will further increase, but the return on investment for exquisite jade will still be considerable.”
Mr. Wang, a market analyst, believes that the fluctuations in the global economic situation have not significantly impacted the high-end Chinese art market. Instead, they have prompted some high-net-worth individuals to shift their funds towards art with potential for value preservation and appreciation. As a representative of traditional Chinese culture, jade's unique cultural attributes and rarity make it an ideal investment target. At the same time, the gradual entry of a younger generation of collectors has injected new vitality into the market, as they tend to collect artworks with aesthetic value and cultural connotations.
Looking ahead, with the resurgence of Chinese traditional culture and the improvement of collectors' aesthetic standards, the jade scholars' objects market is expected to maintain steady growth. However, collectors still need to remain rational, conduct in-depth research, and seek guidance from professional institutions to mitigate potential risks and seize market opportunities.