NEW YORK, 21 March 2018 – Sotheby’s Asia Week New York sale series continued today with the auction of Important Chinese Art. In front of a full crowd of collectors and admirers, 170 lots spanning millennia achieved $15.8 million in total – well in excess of its high estimate of $14.2 million, and with over half of the lots surpassing expectations. The top lot of today came in the afternoon session when an Extremely Rare and Important Archaic Bronze Ritual Wine Vessel and Cover from the Shang Dynasty, Yinxu Period, sold for $1.9 million. This strong price followed a robust morning session in which a seven minute-bidding battle between seven collectors elevated a Rare Pair of Famile-Verte ‘Romance of the Western Chamber’ Cups, Kangxi Period, far past its pre-sale estimate of $100/150,000 to a final price of $1.2 million; soon thereafter, five bidders chased a Rare and Large Celadon-Glazed Lobed Baluster-Form Vase to $1.2 million over double its high estimate. Sotheby’s Asia Week continues tomorrow with a dedicated sale to The Richard R. & Magdalena Ernst Collection of Himalayan Art, followed by the annual auction of Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art. The last auction of the day, The Chew Family Collection of Chinese Paintings & Calligraphy, will commence at 5pm.