NEW YORK, NY.- Christie’s dedicated Evening Sale of Important Chinese Art from the Fujita Museum, realized a grand total of USD$262,839,500 / HK$2,032,755,075, which alone has surpassed the previous record for any Asian Art Week series in auction history. The exhibition, global tour, and auction generated huge international interest driven by Shang and Zhou dynasty ritual bronzes and classical Chinese paintings with exceptional provenance. The top lot for the sale was Chen Rong (13th Century) as Catalogued in Shiqu Baoji, Six Dragons, which realized USD$48,967,500 / HK$378,706,146.

Exceptional prices were realized for the six handscrolls that were formerly part of the collection of the Qianlong Emperor (1711-1799), as evidenced by his collector’s seals and their inclusion in his official catalogue, the Shiqu Baoji, which collectively totaled USD$123,901,000. A new world auction was set for an archaic bronze with the sale of A Magnificent and Highly Important Bronze Ritual Wine Vessel, Fangzun, late Shang dynasty, 13th-11th century BC, which realized USD$37,207,500 / HK$287,756,347. Collectively the six ritual wine vessels totaled USD$125,785,000.

Jussi Pylkkänen, Global President, Christie’s, remarked: “This evening we witnessed a record total for any Asian Art sale and a spectacular success for a great museum through the sale of major Chinese works of art and paintings. Last month, as the auctioneer of the London sales, I witnessed the extraordinary buying power of our Asian clients in both Impressionist and Post-War auctions, which transferred to the New York saleroom for this auction. Christie’s continues to develop strong relationships with major Asian buyers and we are now seeing the benefits of our China strategy, which has seen us open major exhibition spaces in Shanghai and Beijing in recent years.”

Jonathan Stone, Chairman, Asian Art, Christie’s, commented: “It was an honor to represent this exceptional collection of Chinese works of art from the Fujita Museum and support the institution’s long-term future by giving them the opportunity to invest in the overall infrastructure and the core of its collecting mission of Japanese art. This is an example of collaborative business-getting with colleagues in Christie’s offices in New York, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. There was overwhelming response from the international tour to the exhibitions and in the saleroom demonstrating Christie’s ability to source, research, and sell exceptional classical paintings and archaic bronzes.”