During the boom years, the primary point people tended to make about the Asian art market was that it was on fire. They regarded the billion-dollar category as monolithic, while in reality it covers five subareas: Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Korean and Southeast Asian. Now that all markets have cooled off a bit, wise collectors looking to attend the Asia Week sales in New York from March 17 to March 19 (see “Eastern Imports” for a preview) should consider how these disparate categories performed last fall. In September’s New York sales, the Chinese sector led the others in gross earnings, with 655 works totaling $32.8 million, while Indian art brought the most top-dollar prices, with 60 pieces surpassing $100,000. Overall, however, jaw-dropping sums were no longer the norm: Only 10 works cleared $1 million, with a 14th-century Chinese Buddha snagging the week’s high price, $3.7 million, at Christie’s. The lots that sold well were perennial favorites, such as Chinese white jades and Indian miniature paintings, which soared past their estimates. For record-breaking works collectors should look to Hong Kong, where top lots and average sales are far pricier than those achieved in New York, London or Paris.