Was that the sound of the China art bubble bursting?

As quickly as it appeared, the Chinese contemporary art boom ended last week in Hong Kong.

"There's been a downward readjustment of prices," explained Jonathan Stone, business director for Asian art at auction house Christie's at the conclusion of his company's Asian Contemporary evening sale on Nov. 30.

Just around 55 percent of the lots were sold during that sale and the day sale held Dec. 1, compared with 95 percent and 96 percent sold at the spring and autumn auctions held last year. A large painting by Yue Minjun — the so-called "crazy laughing man" artist — which Christie's had listed as a highlight of the evening, was "passed in" for a paltry HK$6 million (nearly ¥72 million), meaning that the bids received did not reach the "reserve price" at which the seller was prepared to part with the work. Just six months ago, a similar work had gone for HK$54 million (¥646 million), and in both the spring and autumn Christie's sales last year, works by the same artist achieved over HK$20 million (¥238 million).