Christie's International will hold a sale in Shanghai in the autumn of 2013, making it the first international auction house to hold its own branded events in the Chinese mainland.

The London-based company, which has maintained an office in Shanghai since 1994, has been granted a license to operate independently in China, it said on Tuesday.

Details of the inaugural auction will be announced later, it said.

Sales of art and antiques in China raised 10.6 billion euros ($13.7 billion) in 2012, making it the world's second-biggest market, according to a report published last month by the European Fine Art Foundation.