NEW YORK — Any trends in the American market for Asian antiques were eclipsed by Asia Week in New York last month when, suddenly, the appetite for Chinese art and antiques could not be sated.
For five days, the market went from healthy and vibrant to hotter than the surface of the sun. The dollar may be weak, and America may be in a recession, but there was a lot of what can only be called "irrational exuberance" — and money spent — particularly at the auction houses.
"They were not the best sales in terms of merchandise, but they were the best sales ever in terms of prices," said Richard Littleton of Littleton & Hennessy, dealers in Chinese art and antiquities in New York and London.