New Delhi, Aug 1 (IANSlife): Buyers from across 22 countries collectively set a new benchmark for the online sale of Asian art, totalling $8,952,625, establishing the highest total achieved for an online-only sales.

Christie's hosted this first-ever Asian Art Week Online where the top lot of the week was a painting by Tyeb Mehta (1925-2009), which realized $975,000, achieving the highest price for a South Asian Modern + Contemporary work sold since the lockdown for the category in an online auction.

Tina Zonars, co-chairman of Asian Art at Christie's, remarked, "We are delighted with the strong results achieved for our first-ever online instalment of Asian Art Week, which established new benchmarks for the value thresholds of transacting online for all categories of Asian art. Throughout the virtual sale week, we had buyers from 22 countries hailing from across Asia, Australia, Europe and the US with competitive bidding witnessed for each sale. This lockdown period has been an unparalleled time of change and innovation. As an organisation, we are leading the way with innovative offerings and developing digital platforms that allow us to serve our clients to the highest standards possible. We now look forward to our fall season of sales beginning in September in New York."