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"With the privilege of being able to own it comes the responsibility of magnifying it for the benefit of the public."

He says he believes that China will become a major factor in the enduring appreciation of Europ's old masters (painters before about 1800).

"In so many areas of today's world, I see China as being the future. I'm not alone in saying that. It's a cliche," he says.

"But some of the areas in which I predict China is the future are not necessarily unanimously viewed to be the case.One of them, as I believe, is that China is clearly making a huge impact on the art world."

Stainton from Christie's says that they've seen an enormous growth in buying interest in old masters from Asia, especially China, in the last five years.

He says half of the six bidders were Asian when it auctioned in London a painting by Peter Rubens that had been previously exhibited in Hong Kong last summer.

"That would not have happened 10 years earlier and maybe even five years ago."

If you go

9 am-5 pm, closed on Mondays, through Sept 3. 16 East Chang'an Avenue, Dongcheng district, Beijing. 010-6511-6400.