The fusty world of antiques is getting a youthful breath of fresh air, thanks to non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
A growing number of art galleries and dealers are using the blockchain to mint NFTs for ancient artefacts, ushering in a group of younger, tech-savvy clients.
Last May, Hong Kong-based Wui Po Kok Antique launched a two-part sale of 60 tokens that are linked to two legendary weapons from the Chinese Qing and Han dynasties.
One batch of 30 NFTs is linked to a bronze, ceremonial sword from the Qing dynasty (1636 to 1912) with gold decorations inspired by the “green dragon crescent blade”, a weapon wielded by the legendary warrior Guan Yu during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China (AD25 to 200).
While the NFTs do not give their holder a part-ownership of the actual weapons, they confer the right to bid for them within one year of the launch. This effectively caps the demand for the physical weapon at 30 bidders.
“Among all the different types of antiques, we have decided to start with minting NFTs backed by antique Chinese weapons because weapons share a common link with the digital assets in the world of blockchain games,” said Warren Cheng, founder of Wui Po Kok Antique.
