Beijing, November 15, 2026 – The highly anticipated Poly 2026 Autumn Auction concluded successfully yesterday, with the “Treasures of Jade – Important Ancient Jade Special” once again demonstrating the unique charm and strong resilience of the Chinese ancient jade market in the global art investment landscape, thanks to its exceptional quality of lots and impressive transaction data. The total sales of this special session reached an astonishing RMB 285 million, with a sell-through rate of 89.5%, far exceeding market expectations and indicating continuous strong demand from collectors for exquisite ancient jade.
This special session presented 120 carefully selected ancient jade pieces, covering treasures from the Neolithic period to the Ming and Qing dynasties. Among them, several high-ancient jade pieces performed particularly well, becoming the focal point of this auction. A “Jade Pig Dragon” from the Hongshan culture was hammered at an astonishing price of RMB 68 million, significantly surpassing its estimated price of RMB 45 million, with a premium rate of 51%. This set a new record for Hongshan culture jade in the public auction market over the past five years. Another “Grain Pattern Jade Bi” from the Warring States period also fetched a high price of RMB 32 million, showing a 28% increase compared to its estimated price of RMB 25 million. In addition, a well-preserved Western Han Dynasty “Dragon Pattern Jade Belt Hook” was sold for RMB 18.5 million, reflecting the market's high recognition of the exquisite craftsmanship of Han Dynasty jade.
From the data, the average unit price of this ancient jade special session reached RMB 2.375 million, an increase of 21.8% compared to the average unit price of similar sessions in Poly's 2025 Autumn Auction (RMB 1.95 million). All lots estimated at over RMB 10 million successfully changed hands, demonstrating strong purchasing power in the high-end market. The sell-through rate for mid-range lots estimated between RMB 1 million and RMB 5 million also reached an impressive 93%, indicating an increase in both market depth and breadth.
Mr. Li Ming, a seasoned auction industry observer, stated in an interview: “The success of Poly's ancient jade special session once again confirms that amidst increasing macroeconomic uncertainties, top-tier artworks, especially ancient jade with profound historical and cultural value, are increasingly highlighting their safe-haven attributes and investment value. Collectors have shown immense enthusiasm for ancient jade with clear provenance, perfect condition, and rich cultural connotations. The strong performance of high-ancient jade is particularly noteworthy, reflecting the market's re-evaluation and value return of early Chinese civilization's artistic achievements.”
Ms. Zhang Hua, a jade market analyst, also pointed out: “In this auction, highly premium lots were mostly concentrated on rare pieces with clear archaeological excavation backgrounds or well-documented provenance. This indicates that when investing in ancient jade, collectors are increasingly weighing its historical authenticity and cultural value, in addition to its artistic merit and rarity. In the future, ancient jade with authoritative appraisal certificates and complete documentation will further enhance its market competitiveness. At the same time, we can also see that some Ming and Qing dynasty jade pieces with unique aesthetics and exquisite craftsmanship also performed well, but the market enthusiasm was slightly more moderate compared to high-ancient jade. This may be related to a shift in market aesthetic preferences towards earlier jade pieces with more primitive power and historical depth.”
Looking ahead, the industry generally believes that the Chinese ancient jade market will continue to maintain a steady growth trend, especially in the fine and rare categories. With growing global interest in traditional Chinese culture and increasing demand for art investment allocation from domestic high-net-worth individuals, the value of ancient jade is expected to continue to climb. However, the market also reminds collectors that ancient jade appraisal is challenging, and the risk of counterfeits is high. Investment still requires caution, and seeking guidance from professional institutions and experts is recommended.