It has been a bumper year for international auction house Christie’s, with strong sales in regions such as Asia driving revenue gains.

It has been a bumper year for international auction house Christie’s, with strong sales in regions such as Asia driving revenue gains and with the internet playing a significant role as a business channel, the business has announced. It logged sales of £4.54 billion ($7.13 billion), up by 16 per cent for 2013.

“This figure is the highest sales total for Christie’s or any auction house in the history of the art market. Christie’s sales figures were driven by an increase in new buyers across all geographies coming to the market, including from growth markets such as China and through the Internet. Thirty percent of buyers were new in 2013 and accounted for 22 per cent of the sales total,” it said in a statement.

While some art prices have oscillated, and the impact of some weakening of Chinese economic growth may suggest a decline in strong demand from that region, Asia continues to be a strong driver of the art market.

“Our strategy to invest in new markets such as China, new channels such as Private Sales and online sales, and to build on our position at the leading auction house, has enabled Christie’s to grow. Our continuing goal is to provide more to our clients and to convene new clients to enjoy art, be it through auctions, exhibitions or online,” Steven Murphy, CEO at the auction house, said.

Auction sales continue to be the primary driver of activity, it said, with global growth of 15 per cent year-on-year at £3.77 billion ($5.9 billion.

Christie’s sold 58 works of art for over $10 million each during 2013 and achieved seven of the top 10 artwork prices in the auction market, it said.

In total, 731 lots were sold for over $1 million each during the year. Private sales grew by 20 per cent totalling £760.5 million. Christie’s online channel expanded, while representing a small overall proportion of sales. Online-only sales totalled £13.2 million – “they were a clear, key driver of attracting new buyers and increasing global accessibility to acquiring authenticated art and luxury goods”, it said.

Some 45 per cent of buyers on the online platform were new to Christie’s, with registrants from over 100 countries. The top price achieved in any online-only sale was $387,750 for an original Apple computer, now known as the Apple-1. Post-War and Contemporary Art categories logged total sales of £1.3 billion, up 29 per cent from the year before.