More modest works of Chinese art fared well during the handful of lower-profile sessions held by other houses throughout the week. On the 20th, the Beverly Hills-based auction outfit I. M. Chait, which set up shop in its temporary Fifth Avenue headquarters, sold an 18th-century white-jade mountain-shaped carving (est. $125-175,000) for $195,000. And on the 17th, Doyle hammered down several items at prices that, although below the Chait jade’s lofty level, did surpass their high estimates. Among the successes were a pair of 18th-century duck-shaped cloisonné candlesticks ($15-25,000), for which a Japanese buyer paid $56,200.

The week closed out with sales of Indian and Southeast Asian art. Adhering to its less-is-more strategy, Sotheby’s held a single session combining traditional works with modern and contemporary art from the region. The house sold only 54.7 percent by lot, but about 73 percent by value — a rate that Christie’s could not best with either of its auctions on March 19 or 20.

The top traditional lot was a pair of 11th- or 12th-century red manuscript covers intricately painted with scenes of worship (est. $100-120,000), which sold for $110,500.The costliest overall, though, was M. F. Husain’s abstract portrait Untitled (Two Women), from the mid-1970s, which brought $374,500 against an estimate of $150,000 to $200,000. Akbar Padamsee also proved popular; his smoky nude from 1960 (est. $200-300,000) made $242,500, and Untitled (Metascape), a lush, abstract embodiment of the five elements, transcended its high estimate to earn $170,500.

Notably absent from the Sotheby’s sale were seven-figure sums and the names often associated with them, such as Subodh Gupta and Tyeb Mehta. Works by Gupta appeared in the auction of modern and contemporary art at Christie’s the following day, but they weren’t among his strongest pieces, which, as the September sales proved, can command several million dollars. Feast for Hundred and Eight Gods 1, 2005, one of the artist’s cooking utensil monuments, left something to be desired. Shaped roughly like a cylindrical cone, it lacks the excitement of his hearts and skulls crafted from kitchen paraphernalia, and the salesroom lost interest at $55,000, just below its low estimate. The consignor of Gupta’s untitled hyperrealist painting of hanging pots from 2004 (est. $200-300,000) was more flexible on the lot’s reserve, letting the painting go for $176,500.

Colorful gouaches by Jamini Roy sold across the board, mostly for under $10,000 — nice prices for the modern Indian master’s depictions of friendly-looking mammals, which were going for as much as $20,000 last fall.

The session’s top price went to a more somber painting by Vasudeo S. Gaitonde. His untitled 1965 canvas (est. $300-500,000), which suggests a ship partially submerged in a vast gray ocean, brought $482,500 — the highest price paid for a work of Indian or South Asian art all week.

Six-figure sums were scarce on the following day, when Christie’s hosted its sale of traditional Indian and Southeast Asian art. The auction began with a session of 21 sculptures and bronzes from the less-than-stellar Star Collection, which brought a total of $883,250. The only item from the group whose hammer price actually exceeded its high estimate was a black stone head of Vishnu, which sold for $43,750 (est. $15-20,000).

As the Star highlights gave way to works from various other collections, bidding was steady. A North American collector sitting in the corner of the salesroom, who declined to be identified, went after a handful of the highly estimated large gray schist figures from the 2nd/3rd centuries. He snagged two, the first for $122,500 and the second for $74,500, but sat out the third, which carried a lower estimate of $30,000. "No hands," he said of the statue’s fatal flaw. "Poor guy. It’s very important to have hands."

Although most of the auctions failed to pull out phenomenal, Sackler-esque performances, confidence in the category of Asian art is not necessarily plummeting. After all, the houses are now burning the candle at both ends when it comes to Asia Week, offering biannual editions in both New York and Hong Kong. This spring’s so-so showing is the logical conclusion of the houses’ expansion in China; as value and volume of lots are rising in the East, they are, by necessity, sinking in the West.