Chinese Vase Zooms From $800 to $18 Million in Record N.Y. Sale

Wealthy Chinese buyers competing for their cultural heritage pushed New York’s week of Asian art to a record, topped by a delicate pear-shaped Chinese vase, estimated to fetch just $800 to $1,200.

The lot soared to $18 million, the most expensive in a dozen Asian Week auctions at Sotheby’s and Christie’s International. Together, the auction houses took in a record $202 million, 56 percent above the previous high in 2007.