Indonesians seek finery despite economic crisis

Indonesians seek finery despite economic crisis

By Alicia Seow

SINGAPORE (Reuters): Rocked by political and economic crises at home, wealthy Indonesians still find time to appreciate the finer things in life.

Indonesians are among the most active auction-goers, bidding top dollar for fine art and jewels, auctioneers say.

"They are the strongest buyers. Almost 50 percent of my buyers are Indonesian," Irene Lee, managing director of Christie's in Singapore, told Reuters.

Top auction house Christie's and rivals Sotheby's and Bonham's held spring sales in Singapore earlier this month, and all noted a strong Indonesian presence.

"The (Indonesian) turnout was very good, considering the situation, but we have also seen new (Indonesian) buyers and new collectors who have not been collecting Southeast Asian (art) before," said Lee.

Auction houses had feared the absence of Indonesian buyers in the days leading up to the sales as they traditionally fueled the market for regional fine art.

However, hundreds of Indonesians had fled to Singapore to escape escalating violence from demonstrations against the 32- year rule of President Soeharto, who resigned on Thursday.

Their presence helped fill the salesrooms and eased concerns that buyers would be in short supply in a market that has grown more cautious since the autumn 1997 sales some eight months ago.

Auctions then generated more than Sin.$20 million, but were off their 1996 peak, when Asian artists fetched record prices and individual works broke the magic million-dollar mark.

Christie's, for example, had cut its estimates on the 193 paintings on offer by an average of 20 to 30 percent, reflecting the poor buying sentiment expected because of the deepening regional economic crisis.

The 10-month crisis has cut billions from corporate balance sheets and seen personal fortunes wiped out as regional currencies plunged in value against the U.S. dollar and Asian stock portfolios plummeted.

Despite the grim outlook, Sotheby's and Christie's took Sin.$2.85 million and Sin.$3.54 million respectively for their fine art sales -- in line with their estimates.

Christie's also offered a private jewel collection that fetched Sin.$1.96 million, exceeding its Sin.$1.5 million estimate.

"It's more than what we expected," said Christie's Lee, adding the collector base appeared to have broadened and greater interest was being seen for Southeast Asian art.

More Singaporean and international buyers were in evidence, said auctioneers, taking advantage of the lower prices anticipated at the sales.

"We have seen more international support, many people were on the phone and we have had collectors from America, Philippines as well as European collectors," Lee said.

"It's most encouraging to witness the active participation and keen bidding throughout the sale," said Quek Chin Yeow, auctioneer and managing director of Sotheby's Singapore, which showcased 196 paintings.

"Amid the economic uncertainty in the region, we are happy to see the strong participation by Europeans and local Singaporeans," he said.

But Bonham's said its sale of 160 paintings failed to reach house expectations, fetching only Sin.$1 million.

"The market is clearly under the influence of the currency trouble," Rob Mulders, Bonham's paintings expert, told Reuters.