A rare Chinese emperor's dragon throne sold for US$11.07 million at a Sotheby's sale in Hong Kong, breaking the auction record for a piece of Chinese furniture.

The imperial-carved zitan "dragon" throne from the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty was sold to a Shanghai-based Chinese buyer in the room, after lively bidding took the price well above the HK$30 million pre-sale estimate.

While the Chinese art market has been hit hard by the financial crisis, especially contemporary art, more traditional categories of Chinese paintings and antiques are still selling well.

The uniqueness of the throne, and the relative scarcity of such high-end Chinese furniture with solid provenance contributed to its high price, experts and auction participants said.

"This throne was literally the seat of imperial power, and this has aroused enormous interest among discerning collectors from around the world," said Nicolas Chow, Sotheby's international head of Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art.

Crafted from precious "zitan" wood, the throne is elaborately carved with a "five dragon" motif symbolizing the emperor.

The previous record for Chinese furniture was a US$4.5 million Qianlong "zitan" side table auctioned in 2008, Sotheby's said.

Gambling tycoon Stanley Ho bought a lacquered throne of the Qing emperor Kangxi in 2007 for US$1.8 million.

But demand was weaker for lower-end works, with 32 percent of lots in the Chinese ceramics and works of art sale going unsold.

Other highlights in the sale included a large enameled "famille-rose" celadon ground butterfly vase that made US$2.8 million.

"Prices were good today but tended toward the high side for some objects," said Hong Kong-based dealer William Chak, who bought a few Chinese ceramics including a blue Qing vase.

A stunning and eclectic "Water, Pine and Stone Retreat collection" of scholar's objects and Chinese objets d'art also achieved solid results, with the top lot, a translucent Qianlong yellow jade bowl with a thick base, selling for almost five times its estimate at US$1.7 million.

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