$206,500 ceremonial blade destroys estimate at Christie's Asian art sale

The $206,500 auction of a brownish-olive Yazhang jade ceremonial blade was one of the most astonishing moments in a week of highlights at Christie's Asian art sale in New York.

The blade, one of a number of fascinating lots from the Arthur M Sackler Collections sale on March 24, made a mockery of its $8,000 high end estimate as collectors and investors sent the price soaring.

The item is thought to be from the Qijia people in north-west China and features a slightly wasted blade flaring at the curved end.

The 30.5 cm long specimen has excellent provenance, having been owned by renowned New York antiques dealer JT Tai & Co in the 1960s.

The auction was just one of many in a week of outstanding sales for Christie's.

Jonathan Stone, the international head of Asian art at the auction house, commented: "The resounding success of Christie's New York Asian Art Week at $117 million, almost $40 million more than our previous record, is a testament to the outstanding property Christie's presented and to the robust market."

Earlier in the week a Qing dynasty vase achieved $7.9m, a world auction record for a Qing monochrome porcelain.