Part of Six Dragons, a painting that once belonged to Emperor Qianlong. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The sale of works from the Fujita collection included five other classical paintings cataloged in Shiqu Baoji, dating to the Tang (618-907), Song and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties, which witnessed the glory of Chinese art.

Also auctioned were four 3,000-year-old Chinese bronze pieces. A wine vessel excavated in Anyang, Henan province, brought in the most, selling for $37.2 million.

The auction's sales totaled $260 million and attracted bidders from around the world. The sale drew several prominent collectors of Chinese art, including British dealer Giuseppe Eskenazi; Robert Chang from Hong Kong; Robert Tsao, a Taiwan-born entrepreneur; and Wang Wei, who co-founded Shanghai's Long Museum with billionaire husband Liu Yiqian.

Rebecca Wei, president of Christie's Asia, said many bidders came from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and new buyers, mostly entrepreneurs, were active in bidding because they knew it was a rare opportunity to acquire such works.