Asia Week New York March 2026 Auction Results
Sotheby’s inaugural Asia Week at the new global headquarters in the Breuer Building concluded with exceptional results, achieving over $44.9 million and surpassing the pre-sale high estimate of $23.1 million by 194%.
Accompanied by two public exhibitions, the sale series presented an exceptional range of works spanning centuries of artistic achievement. Highlights included a rare Xuande mark and period blue-and-white jar which realized $4.1 million after a nearly nineteen-minute bidding battle; an exceedingly rare and important seventeenth-century ‘huanghuali’ folding horseshoe-back armchair (jiaoyi) which realized $2 million; and Maqbool Fida Husain’s Second Act (1958), which led the week at $5.1 million. Of the 322 lots sold, 69% sold above their high estimate, signaling strong, competitive bidding and deep engagement from the market. The Chinese Art auction further distinguished itself by achieving its second-highest March season total in the past five years and a record average lot value exceeding $100,000 over the same period.
RECENT ASIA WEEK NEW YORK MARCH 2026 AUCTIONS & LECTURES
This March, explore the rich legacy of Asian Art at Sotheby’s, where tradition and innovation join in a stunning showcase at the Breuer building. From ancient masterpieces to contemporary expressions, discover seven centuries of artistic excellence at our exhibition in our New York galleries from March 14-25, culminating with a series of live and online auctions that begin on March 24.
Also be sure to join our afternoon of lectures on Sunday, March 22.
To learn more and stay up to date on our exciting Asian Art auctions, exhibitions, and upcoming events in New York, click here.
An important thangka depicting Vajrasana Buddha at Bodh Gaya, Tibet, 14th / 15th century; Lot 823; Estimate: US$400,000 – 800,000 USD, Indian & Himalayan Art, including Property from the Zimmerman Family Collection Sale
Indian & Himalayan Art, including Property from the Zimmerman Family Collection
Auction: Tuesday, March 24, 2026 at 9:30am EDT
Previews: March 19–21 & 23, 10am-5pm; March 22, 12-5pm
The Indian & Himalayan Art auction is led by an important assemblage of Tibetan and Nepalese art from the Zimmerman Family Collection, the preeminent collection of Himalayan art in the United States, a part of which forms the core of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Himalayan holdings. The selection of twelve thangkas and bronzes, extensively published since the 1960’s and included in major exhibitions of Himalayan art, is now being dispersed to the market on the occasion of the inaugural Asian Art auctions at the Breuer building.
Other highlights of the sale include a superb Khasa Malla copper alloy figure of Shakyamuni Buddha and a group of Gandharan sculpture from the collection of Paul Theroux, the celebrated travel writer and novelist.
Contact:
Julian King
SVP, International Specialist and Head of Department
Indian and Himalayan Art
[email protected]
A very rare and important ‘huanghuali’ folding horseshoe-back armchair (Jiaoyi), Late Ming / early Qing dynasty, 17th century; Lot 8; Estimate: US$1,200,000 – 2,000,000; Huanghuali for the Scholar’s Studio: An Important Private Collection of Classical Chinese Furniture Sale
Huanghuali for the Scholar’s Studio: An Important Private Collection of Classical Chinese Furniture
Auction: Wednesday, March 25, 2026 at 9am EDT
Previews: March 19–21 & 23–24, 10am-5pm; March 22, 12-5pm
This season, Sotheby’s is honored to present Huanghuali for the Scholar’s Studio: An Important Private Collection of Classical Chinese Furniture, comprising fourteen exceptional works of Ming- and early Qing-dynasty ‘huanghuali’ furniture from a distinguished private collection. The sale is led by an exceedingly rare and important seventeenth-century ‘huanghuali’ folding horseshoe-back armchair (jiaoyi), formerly in the collection of Frederic Mueller and previously part of the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture in Renaissance, California. With fewer than thirty examples of this form known to survive from the Ming dynasty, the folding horseshoe-back armchair is one of the rarest and most celebrated forms within the canon of classical Chinese furniture. Distinguished by its elaborately carved openwork backsplat and sinuously curved crestrail, the present chair stands as a masterful expression of the form. Other highlights include a rare pair of seventeenth-century ‘huanghuali’ and ‘huamu’ ‘Fu character’ armchairs (sichutouguanmaoyi), also formerly in the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture; a rare late Ming-dynasty ‘huanghuali’ trestle-leg altar table (qiaotou’an); and a very rare seventeenth-century ‘huanghuali’ sedan chair from the esteemed collection of Robert and Alice Piccus.
Contact:
Angela McAteer
Senior Vice President, International Head of Department, Chinese Works of Art
[email protected]
Chinese Art
Auction: Wednesday, March 25, 2026 at 9:30am EDT
Previews: March 19–21 & 23–24, 10am-5pm; March 22, 12-5pm
Sotheby’s New York is honored to present the inaugural Chinese Art auction at the Breuer building. The sale offers a remarkable journey through Chinese art, from early ritual bronzes to Qing imperial masterpieces. Highlights include a distinguished group of Tang and Song ceramics from an important American private collection; a rare Song dynasty Guanyao lobed dish formerly in the Frederick M. Meyer Collection; a magnificent Xuande mark and period blue and white jar previously held by the Chang Foundation; a striking dappled black-glazed bowing Ferghana horse from the Cindy and Jay Pritzker Collection; as well as an Early Western Zhou dynasty four-handled archaic bronze ritual food vessel from a Colorado family collection. The sale also includes a selection of Ming and Qing porcelain, archaic bronzes, jades, lacquerware, scholars’ objects, classical furniture, a group of ink rubbings from the Wu Family Shrine, and historical documents relating to the Xi’an Incident, presented on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of this pivotal moment in modern Chinese history.
Contact:
Angela McAteer
Senior Vice President, International Head of Department, Chinese Works of Art
[email protected]
ZARINA
Selling Exhibition: March 19 – 25, 2026
Previews: March 19–21 & 23–25, 10am-5pm; March 22, 12-5pm
As we mark the inaugural Asia Week at our new home – the Breuer Building – Zarina (1937-2020) offers a particularly resonant presence, her practice having examined the idea of ‘home’ with sustained depth and clarity. An Indian-born American artist, Zarina is best known as a printmaker. Her work was profoundly shaped by a life lived across continents, which arose, in part, through her marriage to an Indian diplomat. Grounded in line, memory, and place, her prints and sculptures explore themes of migration and belonging with disciplined restraint. Sourced from three private collections, this exhibition brings together significant works from across Zarina’s most prized subjects and mediums.
Contact:
Manjari Sihare-Sutin
Senior Vice President, Worldwide Head, Modern & Contemporary South Asian Art
[email protected]
Chinese Art in America: Loans from Important Private Collections
Exhibition: March 14 – 24, 2026
Spanning more than five millennia—from China’s Neolithic cultures to the twentieth-century ink revival—Chinese Art in America traces both the history of Chinese art and its reception in the United States. Drawn from distinguished private collections, the works on view reflect generations of passion, scholarship, and connoisseurship, celebrating the individuals whose vision brought Chinese art into American collections and cultural consciousness.
Modern & Contemporary South Asian Art
Auction: Thursday, March 26, 2026 at 11am EDT
Previews: March 19–21 & 23–25, 10am-5pm; March 22, 12-5pm
This season’s Modern & Contemporary South Asian auction takes a comprehensive look at artwork from the region, showcasing paintings and works on paper from across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Spanning the 20th and 21st centuries, the upcoming sale features trailblazers of South Asian art, creators who questioned convention and pioneered their own visual languages. Sourced from across the United States and from around the world, the works in this auction indicate the extraordinary reach of South Asian art and its appreciation amongst the international art community.
The sale is led by a seminal work by Maqbool Fida Husain, Second Act (1958), which is the most widely published and frequently exhibited work ever sold in this category at Sotheby’s. This history includes important books such as Harry N. Abram’s Husain monograph (1971) and MoMA Oxford’s India: Myth and Reality show (1982). Other highlights in the auction are a Francis Newton Souza published in Edwin Mullin’s F N Souza monograph (1962), a Kattingeri Krishna Hebbar shown in the landmark Geneva show Coups de Coeur (1987), a K.C.S. Paniker from the Words and Symbols series, and other fresh-to-market property from artists such as Vasudeo S. Gaitonde, Jagdish Swaminathan, Ram Kumar, Bhupen Khakhar, Anwar Jalal Shemza and Zainul Abedin.
Contact:
Manjari Sihare-Sutin
Worldwide Head
Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art
(212) 894 1983
[email protected]
Impressions of the Past: Han Dynasty Tomb Bricks from the Art Institute of Chicago
Online Auction: March 6 – 31, 2026 at 11am EDT
Previews: March 19–21 & 23–24, 10am-5pm; March 22, 12-5pm
This spring Asian Art week, Sotheby’s presents a singular opportunity to acquire Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) works from the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Presented across 52 lots – all of which are offered without reserve – the sale comprises an extensive collection of impressed tomb bricks, all originally acquired from the esteemed dealers Yamanaka & Company around 1925 by Kate S. Buckingham. Commissioned for the construction of a tomb, each earthenware brick is impressed with auspicious themes and imagery from daily life and mythological stories.
Contact:
Angela McAteer
Senior Vice President, International Head of Department, Chinese Works of Art
[email protected]
Recent Lectures & Auctions
Sunday, March 22, 2026
1:00pm | Into the Studio: Huanghuali Furniture in Focus by Nicholas Grindley
A guided tour of the Huanghuali for the Scholar’s Studio: An Important Private Collection of Classical Chinese Furniture. Please note this tour takes place in the 4th floor galleries and is limited by RSVP to 15 attendees.
2:00pm | The Yuan Dynasty Stage-Granary: An Architectural and Historical Examination by Nancy S. Steinhardt, Professor of East Asian Art at University of Philadelphia, Curator of Chinese Art, PENN Museum
3:00 | From Private Passion to Public Legacy: Women Who Built the Art Institute of Chicago’s Chinese Art Collection by Seung Hee Oh, Assistant Curator of Chinese Art, Arts of Asia, Art Institute of Chicago
4:00 pm | Print Revolutions – China’s Gift to the World
Preview to an upcoming exhibition at the Cleveland Museum of Art by Clarissa von Spee, James and Donna Reid Curator of Chinese Art, Interim Curator of Islamic Art, Chair of Asian Art, Cleveland Museum of Art
To learn more and RSVP, click here.
