Intern - Asian and World Art

00101 CMW Ltd Company; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 24,000 - 30,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave

Birthday leave

Discretionary bonus

Private Health Insurance

Dental Insurance

Job summary

Christie’s in London is offering a one-year internship to support Chinese Art, Japanese Art Classical Indian Art and Contemporary Indian Art Departments. The role provides day-to-day project support, cataloguing, research, and administrative tasks within a fast-paced art business environment.

You will gain experience in research, catalogue setup, and client liaison while contributing to sale views and image management. Mandarin skills are a plus and English fluency is essential.

Qualifications

• History of Art graduate or other relevant degree.
• Experience in the art sector preferred.
• Language skills: fluent in English plus one or two other languages; Mandarin a plus.
• Self-motivated and highly-organised.
• Ability to demonstrate client facing experience.
• Strong IT skills with familiarity of Microsoft Office.

Responsibilities

• Research and provide specialist support with cataloguing and research.
• Assist in warehouse and upkeep of departmental libraries and offices.
• Aid catalogue distribution, binding and exhibition setup tasks.
• Assist with image copyright requests and museum/curator liaison.
• Support sale coordinators with day-to-day department operations.
• Maintain supplies and assist with exhibition loans when required.

Skills

English language skills

Mandarin (bonus)

Client facing experience

Organisational skills

Self-motivated

Time management

Education

History of Art degree

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

The Company Christie’s, the world’s largest Art Business, is an incredibly exciting & enriching place to start or continue your career. Whether you work within one of our Specialist Art Departments, or in one of our more Operational teams, we are all working together with one common goal in mind: to continue the success of this 250 year old company, steeped in history, bringing fresh ideas whilst not forgetting our shared values; Integrity, Excellence, Innovation, Responsibility & Relationships. Colleagues across all departments are truly passionate about what they do and it is inspiring to work with industry leaders across our business.

Why this role matters:

This one-year internship will provide day-to-day support to the Chinese Art, Japanese Art Classical Indian Art and Contemporary Indian Art Departments, with the potential to develop both specialist and administrative skills.

How you will make an impact:

• Research/Specialist Support Supporting Specialists with cataloguing and research, whether within Christie’s or at external libraries/museums
• Assisting in warehouse when required
• Upkeep of departmental libraries and offices
• Aid catalogue distribution and binding
• Assist in setting up and maintaining sale views
• Assist in taking condition images as requested by clients
• Assist with valuation preparation and research
• Administrative Support To support the Sale Coordinator in the day-to-day running of the Department
• Maintaining stationery and printing supplies in the Department
• Assisting Specialists and Sale Coordinator with catalogue preparation
• Assisting external clients with image copyright requests
• Assisting Specialists and Museum Curators with exhibition loan requests
• Liaise with the Photography and Image editing teams to ensure property is photographed ahead of deadlines
• Competitor’s Sales (UK) Keeping a record of competitor’s sale dates and checking catalogues received prior to the sale Marking catalogues with prices realised and tallying the results Advising the Business Manager of results
• Miscellaneous Any other tasks required as and when they arise

What you’ll bring to the team

• History of Art Graduate (or other relevant degree)
• Previous work experience – either paid or voluntary – within the Art Sector
• Language skills: fluent in English plus one or two other languages, especially European or Asian languages.
• While not essential, fluency in Mandarin is a plus
• Self-motivated and highly-organised
• Ability to demonstrate client facing experience
• Strong IT skills with familiarity of all Microsoft packages

What’s great about working for us

• 25 days annual leave + 1 day Birthday leave
• Christie’s Christmas office closure (guaranteed between 25th Dec – 2nd Jan) – in addition to annual leave: almost two weeks to fully switch off and spend time with friends and family
• Additional 1 week’s annual leave within the year of a 5 year anniversary i.e 5th, 10th, 15th and so on
• Volunteering day: Take an additional day of annual leave to volunteer for a charitable organisation that’s important to you
• Donation matching of up to £500 per annum to help you support the organisations you care about
• Flexible Fitness Fund - £400 per year expense allowance for health and wellness related activity (taxable)
• Access to world-renowned art: with regular exhibitions in our galleries to wander around and exclusive guided tours hosted by specialist colleagues
• Discretionary Bonus (dependent on the business and employee performance payable in March each year)
• Generous retirement plan: We will double match your pension contribution up to 5% of your basic salary (Max 10% contribution from Christie’s)
• Private Health Insurance – no employee contribution needed, subsidised for other family members
• Dental Insurance – (may be extended at personal cost)
• Generous Income Protection Insurance in the event of accident, sickness or injury
• Competitive Life Insurance policy from first day
• Employee Assistance Programme – access to personal advice and support services including counselling
• Eyecare vouchers (once a year)
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Christie’s Extras – discounts on over 800 retailers, holiday packages, dinners and weekly shops
• Robust family first policy: Ø 16 weeks full pay on Maternity Leave
• Robust family first policy: Ø Four day week, for eight weeks, at full pay on return from Maternity Leave
• Robust family first policy: Ø Dependent back-up care: 10 sessions/ days of childcare or eldercare per year
• Robust family first policy: Ø The Stork Club: Our community of parents who meet regularly over breakfasts, lunch, afternoon tea…
• *Christie’s reserves the right to change company benefits at any time

Closing date- Sunday 8th November 2026

Salary - £26,936 per annum

#LI-Hybrid

Christie’s is the world’s leading art business. Since 1766, we are known for our extraordinary art, unparalleled service and expertise, as well as international glamour. Every year, we offer around 350 live and online auctions in over 80 specialist categories – including all areas of fine and decorative arts, Asian art and luxury collectables – as well as a long and successful history of private sales.

Contact us in 46 countries, or visit one of our 10 international salerooms in London, New York, Hong Kong, Paris, Geneva, Milan, Amsterdam, Dubai, Zürich and Shanghai.

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