Contemporary Japanese ceramics took center stage in New York recently, when Phillips, the world's number three auction house, lifted the hammer on a sale titled "20th Century Japanese Ceramics and Design."

Held May 17 at the American Craft Museum, the sale marks the first time that 20th-century Japanese ceramics have been the central focus of a major auction in the U.S.

While small lots of contemporary Japanese ceramics have previously been included in American auctions of Japanese and Oriental art, no house until now has mounted an entire sale in the U.S. devoted to 20th-century Japanese ceramics and crafts. Although such items have sold well at London auctions for over a decade, according to Ben Williams, the London-based head of the Phillips ceramic department, interest in the U.S. was felt to be too limited to warrant holding a similar auction in New York.