Auction with a Chinese heart

The death of the West's pre-eminent collector of Asian art means a treasure trove will go under the hammer in March, Deng Zhangyu reports.

The elevator rattles as it rises to Robert H. Ellsworth's apartment on Fifth Avenue in New York. Walking from one room to another, we can hardly take our eyes from assortments of Chinese paintings, old-fashioned jade, Buddha sculptures and Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) furniture.

As if walking to the end of the house of 22 rooms, Ellsworth, the prestigious late art dealer and collector of Asian art, would sit at a table, caressing an animal-like antique object with one hand; on the floor, a rug used in the emperor's quarter of the Forbidden Palace in Beijing.