The market, however, cooled in the latter half of 2011 and there was little confidence in spring 2012 because of an uncertain economic prospect. Guan says buyers have become more rational.
"Many elements are taken into consideration when deciding the value of an artwork, which include the artist's status, the hierarchy and how representative the work is, in addition to the art publications and catalogues it has appeared in."
Though a record was set by Wan Shan Hong Bian, two other important paintings by Li were unsold, which came as no surprise for art collectors like Yan An.
"Both big players and new buyers are bidding for the best works of the blue-chip artists, while the market can't provide as many top-notch artworks and provide the reduced risks that people expect.
"This is because in the face of an unclear market, cautious owners would rather keep those items, which achieved skyscraping prices, rather than flip them at auction," Yan says.
It has become a tug of war between owners and buyers, he adds.
There is some reassurance for art dealers, collectors and analysts, however, and that is the category of modern masters in the 20th century will continue to serve as a powerful engine, because of its immense stock and wide price ranges - and acknowledgement of its artistic value among buyers.
Traditional painting and calligraphy have been pillars of the Chinese art market. The category accounted for nearly 60 percent of China's art market share in 2011.
The prices of Chinese modern painting and calligraphy have kept surging up over the past five years, and reached a climax in the spring sales of 2012.
"Although the market fell in 2011's autumn sales, the price is still on a high level compared to other categories," Guan says.
AMMA's statistics show that by June 21, Chinese modern paintings took up five positions in the spring sales' top 10 artworks, in terms of auction price.
"We are optimistic that the market for Chinese modern paintings will continue to grow, while newer buyers will mature as they expand their collection and gain experience in the market," International Specialist Head of Christie's Chinese Paintings Department Ben Kong says.
He stresses that it is important to have a normalized and healthy market for Chinese paintings.
Guan says although several modern masters have ascended to the 100 million yuan club, fueled by huge influxes of capital in previous auction seasons, records are difficult to break. The market tends to seek breakthroughs in terms of works by more artists of different genres.
Kong says investment should possibly be secondary when looking at a painting, because "there is always a certain degree of risk in any investment activity".
"The primary focus for collecting is still the love and appreciation that one experiences or gradually learns," he says.
By Lin Qi
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