NEW YORK, NY.- Christie’s announces Asian Art Week, a series of auctions, viewings, and events, from September 7-14. This season presents eight distinct auctions featuring over 900 lots spanning all epochs and categories of Asian Art from Chinese archaic bronzes through contemporary Indian painting. In addition to the four category sales, this season includes four thematic auctions: Qianlong's Precious Vessel: The Zuo Bao Yi Gui, a single-lot sale dedicated to a revered bronze formerly in the collection of the Qianlong Emperor; Masterpieces of Cizhou Ware: The Linyushanren Collection, Part IV, the fourth auction of a sale series of rare Chinese ceramics from an important private Japanese collection; Fine Chinese Jade Carvings from Private Collections, presenting a range of jades from five private collections; and The Ruth and Carl Barron Collection of Fine Chinese Snuff Bottles: Part VI.

The week of sales begins with Fine Chinese Paintings, led by a contemporary painting by Ma Xinle (B. 1963), Horses (estimate: $250,000-350,000) from the Collection of Steven C. Rockefeller, Jr. Additional highlights include Qi Baishi (1863-1957), Pumpkins (estimate: $60,000-100,000); and Zhang Daqian (1899-1983), Landscape (estimate: $100,000-150,000).

Featured in a stand-alone sale, Qianlong’s Precious Vessel: The Zuo Bao Yi Gui (estimate: $4,000,000-6,000,000), is a magnificent archaic bronze gui and an exceptionally rare four-legged example formerly in the imperial collection of the Qianlong Emperor. Additional highlights across Chinese works of art include two early Tang dynasty limestone bodhisattvas offered in separate lots: a rare grey limestone figure of Avalokiteshvara, early Tang dynasty, 8th century (estimate: $1,500,000-2,500,000) and a rare grey limestone figure of Mahasthamaprapta, early Tang dynasty, 8th century (estimate: $1,500,000-2,500,000). Additionally featured is a superb selection of archaic bronzes from the MacLean Collection, Illinois, including a bronze ritual food vessel, ding, late Shang dynasty, 13th-12th century BC (estimate: $200,000-300,000).

Highlights of the Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Works of Art sale are led by an important bronze group of seated Shiva and Uma, South India, Tamil Nadu, late Chola-early Vijayanagara period, late 13-early 14th century (estimate: $600,000-800,000); an 18th century thangka of Scenes from the Life of Milarepa, Eastern Tibet (estimate: $250,000-350,000); and a thangka of Amitabha from the Xumi Fushou Temple, Qianlong period, 1779-80 (estimate: $150,000-250,000).

The South Asian Modern + Contemporary sale features masterpieces by modern Indian painters, led by Tyeb Mehta (1925-2009), Diagonal XV (estimate: $1,500,000-2,000,000) and Akbar Padamsee (B. 1928), Rooftops (estimate: $800,000-1,200,000), a monumental painting from the artist’s gray period. Additional highlights include Manjit Bawa’s Untitled (Acrobat) (estimate: $600,000 – 800,000) and Francis Newton Souza’s seminal Family (estimate: $600,000 – 800,000), among other important paintings by the artist. The auction also includes important early works by Syed Haider Raza, Vasudeo S. Gaitonde and Maqbool Fida Husain along with an impressive collection of works in various mediums by Nasreen Mohamedi.