Christie's International said auction and private sales increased by 10 percent worldwide in the first half, driven by new buyers from the Middle East, Russia and Asia.

Christie's sold 1.8 billion pounds ($3.6 billion) of art and collectibles over the six months, compared with 1.6 billion pounds in the same period a year earlier, according to an e-mailed statement reld today. Auction sales include London-based Christie's fees.

Auctions held by Christie's and its rival Sotheby's have been boosted by demand from billionaires such as Roman Abramovich, even as other collectors reduced purchases amid worries about economic slowdown. Christie's said its sales in the Asia and Middle East region totaled 179 million pounds, up 81 percent on the same period last year.

``Asia has been a robust selling environment,'' said Jussi Pylkkanen, president of Christie's Europe and the Middle East, in a telephone interview. ``A lot of clients are now choosing to sell jewelry in Dubai and we've seen amazing growth in the market for Asian art.''

Worldwide sales of Asian art totaled 239 million pounds, up 63 percent on last year. About 250 new clients registered to bid for art and jewels at Christie's Hong Kong in the first half of 2008, said Pylkkanen.

European and U.K sales totaled 837 million pounds, an increase of 6 percent on the same period in 2007. Sales in the Americas totaled 631 million pounds, a decline of 1 percent.

Monet Boost

Christie's June Impressionist and modern auction in London was helped by the presence of 17 works from the estate of the Columbus, Indiana, collectors the late J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller. The collection fetched 67.5 million pounds with fees, led by the record 40.9 million pounds paid for Claude Monet's 1919 ``Le Bassin aux Nympheas.''

The Monet helped Impressionist and modern art outperform contemporary art at Christie's in the first half of 2008. Sales of the former reached 497 million pounds, while the latter took 408 million pounds.

Christie's said the gap would have been smaller if the half- year results had included the auction house's July 1 day sale of contemporary art in London, which fetched 22.4 million pounds with fees.

Haunch Dealers

The totals include private sales, which increased to 153 million pounds, compared with 82 million pounds during the same period last year. These comprise deals brokered by Christie's as well as sales achieved by its wholly owned subsidiary, the contemporary-art dealership Haunch of Venison, which the auction house bought in February 2007.

``We've become significantly more active and interactive with Haunch,'' said Pylkkanen. ``When we have clients looking for cutting-edge contemporary works, we use Haunch.''

Pylkkanen said that London-based Haunch of Venison's rumored move into galleries in the Royal Academy of Arts was still ``under discussion.''

Christie's, which is owned by the French billionaire Francois Pinault, doesn't report revenue or profit, though it releases sales totals twice a year.

Sotheby's equivalent figures for the first half of 2008 are due to be released on about Aug. 8, the New York-based auction house said.