In London and New York, contemporary artists are trouncing the Old Masters at auction, helped by China's new breed of painters such as Zhang Xiaogang. Back home in China, though, long-dead artists and craftsmen are still winning. As Christie's International prepares for Asia's biggest art auction this year in Hong Kong -- 2,400 items worth up to HK$1.8 billion ($231 million) -- Ming porcelain and traditional Chinese ink drawings are expected to outshine works by living artists such as Zhang, Zeng Fanzhi and China-born, Paris-based Zao Wou-ki. "There's an essence, a spirit in fine antique pieces that is absent in contemporary artworks," said Cai Mingchao, 43, general manager of Xiamen Harmony Art International Auction Co., who paid a record HK$116.6 million last year for a Ming Dynasty Buddhist bronze statue. "Many people are speculating on Chinese contemporary art, that's why prices have risen so much. They have no one but themselves to blame should prices collapse."Earlier this month, China Guardian Auctions Co. said it sold "Red Cliff," a Ming Dynasty painting, for 79.5 million yuan ($10.7 million), a record for a Chinese picture. In October, Yue Minjun's "Execution" fetched 2.9 million pounds ($5.9 million) in London, the highest price paid for a Chinese contemporary work. A Ming Dynasty blue-and-white jar with carvings of boys in a garden may fetch as much as HK$30 million at Christie's five-day sale that starts on Sunday, the auction house estimates. Zao's abstract "And the Earth Was Without Form" is expected to reach an artist record of HK$20 million. Zeng's painting of five mask- clad men may sell for HK$5 million, while Zhang's "Portrait in Yellow"is estimated at about HK$10 million. Preferred Target The resilience of traditional work in the face of soaring prices for new works bucks a trend that has made contemporary artists the preferred target of collectors in the West. In New York last week, contemporary art sales at Christie's and Sotheby's made up for the lackluster performance of Impressionist and modern paintings, as works by artists such as Jeff Koons drew fervid bidding. Paintings by Zhang and Fang Lijun set artist records at the sales. An Andy Warhol car-crash picture sold in May for more than $70 million, double the record 18.5 million pounds paid in July for Raphael's portrait of Florentine ruler Lorenzo de' Medici. Still, declines in Asia's major stock markets, including a 9 percent drop in Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index this month, may temper demand at the auctions. Asians accounted for 76 percent of buyers at Christie's May sale in the city, of which 60 percent were from China and Taiwan, said Yvonne So, a Hong Kong-based Christie's spokeswoman. "More Caution" "There might be more caution than a few months ago," said Sandra Walters, a Hong Kong-based art consultant. "Uncertainty in the financial world may affect art-market sentiments." Yang Ou, a Beijing-based art dealer, said stock-market swings have "a profound effect" on mainland Chinese buying. Chinese enthusiasm for art purchases, especially antiques, has "waned slightly" in recent weeks. "Art transactions in Asia are still very much profit- driven," said Yang. "There are collectors who buy pieces for the love of them, but their numbers are few." Su-Mei Thompson, a Hong Kong-based Christie's director, said weakness in the stock and property markets may help alternative investments like art. "If those markets are overheated, then buying art may not be a bad thing," Thompson said. Prices of some Chinese contemporary paintings, like Zhang's somber portraits and Yue's smiling-faced men, have more than tripled in five years as European and U.S. buyers compete with Asian investors for pieces that interpret modern China. Big Names Walters said prices of Chinese contemporary art are still climbing, and buyers are gravitating toward established names like Zhang and Yue, while artists like Fang and Xu Bing are also starting to make their mark. Fang's triptych, depicting scenes in a Chinese hospital, fetched 2.8 million pounds last month, beating Warhol's "Hammer and Sickle." Xu broke his auction record twice at a Sotheby's sale in Hong Kong last month. Contemporary works are gaining on classical Chinese art partly because there are so many fakes in the market and it's easier to authenticate new works, said Yang. "Money isn't an issue with the big-league buyers," he said. "It's more important they know the pieces are genuine." More auction money is flowing into classical Chinese paintings and antiques of good provenance, he said. At Sotheby's October sale, the top lots in the antique paintings and ceramics categories came with literature detailing their past owners. A blue-and-white dragon stembowl from the Xuande period sold at the auction for HK$35 million. Biannual Sales Christie's and Sotheby's hold biannual auctions in Hong Kong, the world's third-largest art-auction market after New York and London. Christie's fetched HK$1.2 billion offering around 2,500 items in Hong Kong last autumn. In October, Sotheby's 1,100-lot sale in the city fetched HK$1.55 billion. Some advisers urged against investing too much in contemporary Chinese works after the run-up in prices. "There's little sense in buying one smiling face after another," said Walters. Others, such as Cai at Xiamen Harmony Auction, shun the new artists in favor of works that have stood the test of time. "Personally I don't understand how people can pay millions for those smiling faces," he said. "Some people buy their works because they are different. What good is being different if there isn't aesthetic merit?"