Christie's sale of the Doris Wiener Collection of classical Indian and Southeast Asian Art achieved $12.7m yesterday (March 20).
The collection, which featured nearly 400 lots comprised of sculpture and paintings from the Himalayas, India, Gandhara and Southeast Asia, was assembled by internationally renowned art dealer Doris Wiener who has been in the business for five decades.
The top lot was a 13th century gilt bronze figure of Padmapani from Nepal which sold for $2.49m against a pre-sale estimate of $250,000-350,000.
 This figure of Padmapani achieved $2.49m |
A circa 11th century bronze group of Somaskanda achieved $1.81m, 50.8% above its $1.2m high estimate. The piece depicts the family sitting on cushions over a wide waisted plinth.
A 16th century Tibetan thangka (a type of Tibetan silk painting featuring embroidery) of four mandalas of Hevajra, representing the tantric aspects of body, speech, mind and essence brought $866,500, more than three times its high estimate.
Hugo Weihe, international director of Asian Art at Christie's, commented: "Many star lots of the sale performed significantly above their pre-sale estimates, especially the important gilt bronze figure of Padmapani and the important bronze group of Somaskanda, reflecting a market that honors quality and provenance."
The sale was held as part of Asia Week (March 16 - 24), a collaboration among numerous museums, auction houses, Asian art specialists and Asian cultural institutions in the Metropolitan New York area.
Watch this space for more results from Asia Week auctions as they happen.
