Thierry Ehrmann explains the idea behind Artprice.com’s recently announced auction capability:

“It took twelve years and lots of patience and conviction to pursue a legal battle against a 500 year-old monopoly that is today demolished.”

The site goes on to explain Artprice’s new intiative:

Artprice also has an agreement with INTERPOL, allowing buyers to access its international Stolen Works of Art database to check if a work being offered for sale is subject to any legal dispute or search warrant.

Artprice is setting up white labels for auction houses that will use Artprice and its Standardised Marketplace as their technical host for online auctions, thereby providing Artprice – which is not an auctioneer – with another source of income.

Artprice said its figures for 2011 have already confirmed China’s domination of the global art market for the second consecutive year.

Artprice said it was preparing for the opening of its subsidiary and clean rooms in Hong Kong that will be a testing ground for the People’s Republic of China and an entry point for Asia.

Artprice Launches Online Auctions and Eyes China Art Market (Auctionbytes)