A feast of Asian art in New York

There's a growing demand for Chinese art throughout the U.S. Given the profusion of fakes in China - American, European and Asian clients have flocked to the U.S., trusting the authenticity of the pieces sold here by American collectors.

Art lovers, collectors and dealers from around the world are gathering in New York for Asia Art Week. It's an annual event that focuses on auctioning pieces from a number of Asian countries, making the event one of the largest in the world. Chinese artwork, in particular, is expected to be the best sellers.

It's one of the most anticipated auctions at Asia Art Week. The collection of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth; a passionate admirer who was considered to be fully immersed in every facet of Asian art. From ancient statues, to Ming furniture and Chinese paintings, Ellsworth's vast collection is being auctioned at global auction house Christie's.

"Ellsworth was a hugely charismatic man who collected across so many different categories. He was not just a collector who dealt in fine Chinese and Asian art. But he was also a scholar. He wrote some of the best books on Chinese furniture and really introduced Chinese furniture to people in the West. So the whole magic and aura of the personality of Robert Ellsworth has been reflected in the sales," said Jonathan Stone, chairman of Asia Art, Christie's.

The first auction held on Tuesday had 10 pieces for sale. All were sold for $61 million. Almost all of the buyers were Asian.

It's not just Christie's that's seeing an influx of Asian buyers. Global auction houses like Sotheby's and Bonhams are observing the same trend.

There's a growing demand for Chinese art throughout the U.S. Given the profusion of fakes in China - American, European and Asian clients have flocked to the U.S., trusting the authenticity of the pieces sold here by American collectors.

Whether they're buying in New York or other parts of the world, Asian purchasing power is hard to ignore. Asian buyers represents 27% of auction house Christie's global clientele. Last year, Christie's sold $844 million worth of Asian art, Sotheby's almost $800 million and Chinese auction house China Guardian $940 million in sales last year.

Collectors like Ellsworth have helped place Asian art on the global map.

"He's renowned particularly in the field of Asian art and how he really brought Asian art to the attention of people in the West 30 or 40, 50 years ago. When it didn't have so much attention as it does now, and for that he's truly respected and revered among people in America but also among people in China," Stone said.

As Chinese buyers come to New York, looking to bid on the next treasure, art dealers say the best place to find and buy Chinese antiques, isn't in China. It's right here, in the U.S.