Christie's auction house says it broke a record for sales in Asia, raking in $243 million Cdn in last week's sale of Asian artworks.

"Another record-breaking series of sales at Christie's Hong Kong showed the growing strength in Asia of the demand for works of art of the highest quality," said chief executive Edward Dolman of the five-day sale in Hong Kong of Asian art, jewelry and watches.

A painting by Chinese painter Xu Beihong entitled Slave and Lion sold for $7.8 million.
(Vincent Yu/ Associated Press)

The auction broke the previous record set in May, which pulled in more than $176 million.

Officials said a robust stock market has created a newly-rich class in Asia that is interested in investing in art. Christie's estimates that one out of four buyers at its auctions is from Asia.

Big ticket items included the $7.8 million paid for the work Slave and Lion by Chinese artist Xu Beihong — the largest amount ever paid at an auction for an Asian oil painting.

Meanwhile, another painting Tiananmen Square by Zhang Xiaogang sold for $2.65 million.

It was a smaller item that created the biggest buzz. A white Imperial Qing dynasty bowl, which once belonged to Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton, sold for $22.24 million.

Measuring only 11.3 centimetres in diameter, the Guyuexuan bowl is the most expensive work of art ever sold at an Asian auction, according to Christie's.

The bowl bears the seal of the Qianlong Emperor, who reigned from 1736 to 1795.

The explosion of prices for Asian art has experts calling for caution.

"I don't think the prices they are willing to pay really are worth it," said Tuyet Nguyet, the publisher and editor of Arts of Asia magazine.

"The market's gone in leaps and bounds without any true merit.… Some of these avant-garde paintings are pure speculation."

Sales records have also been set all over the world, with buyers snapping up everything from Andy Warhols to early modern Canadian works.  Il etait une fois une ville by the late Québécois artist Jean-Paul Riopelle recently fetched a record $1.67 million.

Sales for fine art auctions reached $4.75 billion Cdn in 2005, up from $4.12 billion a year ago, according to the auction research service Artprice.

"Art is now just a luxury item that [investors] can buy just for the fun of it," said Tim Bourne, the senior vice-president at Christie's.