The triumphant outcome of Christie's auction on March 19, which posted a $26.3 million total, was extraordinary by any standard. A rage to buy seemed to be driving the attendance, half of which came from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Shown here is a limestone head of Buddha, which was up for sale and dated 7th to early 8th century. (photo Eskenazi Ltd.)

This gilt-bronze statue of a seated Buddhist figure was as difficult to define iconographically as it was to place geographically. Christie's estimated its date to be somewhere between the 10th and 11th century. The statue was sold to Littleton & Hennessy of New York and London for $2,505,000. (photo Christie's Images Ltd.)

A flurry of sales in art galleries across town had already given some idea of the bullishness of the Chinese market, encouraging dealers to jump into the auction fray. This gilt-bronze figure of the standing Guanyin, dating from the 8th century A.D., was sold somewhere under $1 million. (photo J. J. Lally & Co.)

James Lally, the leading U.S. dealer in early Chinese art, said that within four days of the opening of his show, he had sold 19 of the 28 works illustrated in his catalogue. Among them was this smiling face from a stone bas-relief of the 6th century A.D. (photo J. J. Lally & Co.)

The sale was blatantly driven by an unforeseen passion and desire for collection and purchase. This wood sculpture of Dainichi Nyorai, dated 1223, sold for an astonishing $14,377,000. This was a world auction record for a Japanese work of art. (photo Christie's.) - (source www.ith.com)