Historically not a major month for Fine art sales, August 2021 saw most of the revenue being generated by Jewellery auctions
Posted by Pi-eX Research on 15th Sep 2021
In August 2021, the Pi-eX AMI remained stable with a minor drop vs previous month (-0.13%), from US$9.95 billion in July 2021 to US$9.94 billion. The plateau of the Pi-eX AMI reflects the return to some normality in the auction market after an incredibly challenging ride due to the pandemic.
This August has indeed been quieter at the top three auction houses, but still reminiscent of the post-pandemic transformations of the auction market: Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips arranged exclusively online-only auctions, and 2 NFT sales were added to the August calendar.
Sources of revenue diversified, furthering the trend spotted in the Spring, as Hong Kong and Geneva generated a larger share of income. Historically not a major month for Fine art sales, August 2021 saw most of the revenue being generated by Jewellery auctions, especially in New York, which remained by far, the first marketplace in August 2021.
The Pi-eX August 2021 AMI Monthly report details what drove the change in the Pi-eX AMI in August and suggests two scenarios for the coming month.