During this season’s Asian Art Week, total sales reached an impressive $29,684,314, exceeding initial forecasts and elevating the cumulative total for the auction series to $81,531,228 for the year. This event attracted bidders from around the globe, both in our New York auction room and online.
The week commenced with a sale dedicated to Japanese and Korean Art, where Christie’s once again solidified its leadership in the market by achieving remarkable results for pieces created by the renowned Ukiyo-e artist, Katsushika Hokusai. The highlight of this segment was an edition of Hokusai’s iconic woodblock print, Under the Well of the Great Wave off Kanagawa, which fetched $856,800, significantly surpassing its low estimate by over 170%.
Following this, the South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art auction generated a total of $9,385,992, successfully selling 98% of the lots and exceeding its low estimate by 212%. The standout piece from this auction was The Radiant Spheres, a 1963 painting by Jehangir Sabavala, which sold for $730,800. The event also saw record-breaking sales for four artists: Ram Kumar, Bikash Bhattacharjee, Ivan Peries, and Mohammed Kibria.
Wrapping up the week, the two-part Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art auction garnered $11,639,224. Notably, 11% of the participants were first-time bidders in this category. The top lot of the auction—and indeed of the entire week—was an exceptionally rare Xuande blue and white ‘peony’ dish, which realized $1,562,500. Additional remarkable sales included a pair of imperial three-color glass stem bowls that exceeded its low estimate by more than nine times, selling for $750,800, and a rare celadon-glazed truncated bottle vase that tripled its low estimate, fetching $655,200.
