Record sales a fine art for Christie's

Jussi Pylkkanen, president of Christie's Europe, said the strength was sustainable and that there was room for further growth given the number of new clients bidding with the company.

He added that Christie's would focus its efforts over the next five years on expanding its online presence and on developing a new client base in mainland China.

The number of new clients who registered for a sale last year rose 23 per cent on 2009, and the number of people who went on to buy an item increased 13 per cent.

"It's that rise of new registrants which really for me signals both sustainability and actually further potential growth," he said in an interview.

Prices in several sectors soared and records tumbled last year, making up for steep losses triggered by the global economic crisis.