A 12th-century Nepalese gilt-copper figure of the bodhisattva Manjusri has set a world auction record for Himalayan gilt-copper sculpture, selling for HK$137.35 million at Christie's Hong Kong. The 93-centimetre statue, offered in the single-owner sale of a private Asian collection of Buddhist art, was the most expensive lot of the house's autumn Asian Art Week.

Bidding opened at HK$48 million and climbed through a contest between telephone bidders before the hammer fell at HK$115 million. With fees added, the final price reached HK$137.35 million, roughly a tenth of the entire season's takings. The figure shows Manjusri in the triple-bend pose of the Newar sculptural tradition, a lotus at his shoulder carrying the Perfection of Wisdom sutra, and had previously been shown in Chicago and Beijing.

The sale formed part of a strong showing for Buddhist art. The single-owner auction totalled HK$204.45 million, with a 10th-to-11th-century seated Shakyamuni taking second place at HK$47.26 million. A second sale of Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian art added HK$78.53 million, bringing the two Buddhist-focused auctions to a combined HK$282.98 million, a quarterly record for the category at Christie's.

Across eight live sales held from October 27 to 30, Christie's Hong Kong took HK$1,015,518,800, its best Asian art season since 2018 and 111 percent of the combined low estimates. Buddhist art supplied almost 28 percent of that total, in a season marking 40 years since Christie's began operating in Asia. More than half of the season's new buyers came from the millennial and Gen Z generations, the house said.