Indian & Southeast Asian Art

Christie's sales of Indian and Southeast Asian art feature paintings, textiles and sculpture from an expansive geographical range that extends from Afghanistan to Indonesia and from the Himalayas to Sri Lanka. Many of these objects emerge from Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain contexts, as well as traditions and cultures dating from the Indus Valley period (c. 3300 B.C.) to the mid-1900s. Christie's holds two specialized sales of classical Indian and Southeast Asian Art a year in New York and have offered exceptional single-owner sales on a selective basis, including Gandharan Buddhist Art from the Collection of a Prince (September 2007) and The Scholar’s Vision: The Pal Family Collection (March 2008).

The Department of Indian and Southeast Asian art at Christie's is recognized for its academic expertise internationally. We maintain the highest standards of research, publishing catalogues that are noteworthy for their scholarship. The result is that we are the regional and global leaders in the field of Indian and Southeast Asian art, maintaining 76% of the market share in New York alone.

Christie’s has handled several important collections, including the Pan-Asian Collection, the Nathan Halpern Collection, the Thomas T. Solley Collection, Muneichi Nitta Collection, the Robert H. Ellsworth Collection, and the Ariane Dandois Collection, which are among the most important to appear at auction. We also consistently have set records for the highest prices ever realized at auction in Indian and Southeast Asian art. In March 2008 we achieved four world auction records for the field during our sale of Eight Masterpieces of Indian and Southeast Asian Art. A Sarnath sandstone figure of Buddha achieved $4.5 million, setting a record for Indian sculpture; a 13th century Tibetan thangka of Vairocana achieved $1.5 million, setting a record for Tibetan painting; a rare and large painting by Nainsukh of Guler achieved $2.2 million, setting a record for Indian painting; and a Baphuon sandstone figure of Uma achieved $2.1 million, setting a record for Khmer sculpture. In tandem with the rise in the South Asian economy, the market for art of Indian and Southeast Asian origin continues to grow ever stronger.

Upcoming Sales from this department

  • Feb 2009 23 TBD

    Paris

    Collection Yves Saint Laurent et Pierre Bergé

  • Feb 2009 24 TBD

    Paris

    Collection Yves Saint Laurent et Pierre Bergé

  • Feb 2009 25 TBD

    Paris

    Collection Yves Saint Laurent et Pierre Bergé

  • Mar 2009 20 10am & 2pm

    Rockefeller Center

    South East Asian Art

  • Apr 2009 3 10:30am & 2pm

    South Kensington

    Indian & Islamic Works of Art & Textiles

  • Jun 2009 4 TBD

    Paris

    Art d'Asie

  • Oct 2009 6 11am

    King Street

    Art from the Islamic and Indian Worlds

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