The Paris auction of Yves Saint Laurent’s art ­collection has restored confidence in an art market that has seen sale totals and prices plunge as a result of the global economic crisis, according to dealers.

The seven-session, three-day marathon auction racked up €373.9m (£332.8m, $483.8m) for a vast and ­eclectic assemblage of art objects amassed over more than 30 years by the deceased fashion designer and Pierre Bergé, his business partner and one-time lover.

The sale drew more than 35,000 visitors to a two-and-a-half day preview, saw more than 1,200 people cram into the Grand Palais for each day of the sale and set dozens of auction records, from paintings by Matisse and Mondrian to furniture, sculpture, silver, French bronzes and Venetian enamels.

“There was certainly no crisis of liquidity in the Grand Palais this week,” said Thomas Gibson, a ­London dealer. “And the result of the sale will quite obviously have a very, very positive effect on the market. It showed that there are people prepared to pay huge sums of money for objects they want – even now, when the world is in financial ­turmoil. There was no moderation in their spending.”

Among the record prices set were a Matisse which sold for €35.9m, a Brancusi sculpture which went for €29.2m, and an Art Deco armchair by Eileen Gray which fetched an astonishing €21.9m. A German silver-gilt cup from 1649 made €853,000 and even more minor items routinely soared to 10 times estimate or more as mainly European and US buyers vied to carry off at least one item from the sale.

François Curiel, Christie’s European chairman, said the company was already experiencing a positive impact from the auction.

“We have had a number of vendors who have called us, they have gained confidence from the results of Yves Saint Laurent and they want to talk about selling their works,” he said.

Sourcing art for the May and June sales in London and New York is crucial for the auction houses, which had experienced some difficulty putting together their sales this month because vendors feared their artworks would not sell. The totals achieved in the London auctions this month were a third of those made last year.

One of the most significant buyers at the sale was Philippe Ségalot, of the Paris and New York dealership Giraud Pissarro Ségalot. He said he was not sure the art market would necessarily be boosted by the auction.

“This sale was a one-off, with some exceptional objects and a special aura because of Yves Saint ­Laurent.

“For the very top pieces, the YSL factor was less important because they were superb pieces and that is what the market wants today,” he said. But the identification with the fashion designer helped push the prices up of lesser objects.

The only hitch in the Yves St Laurent sale was the furore surrounding two 18th century Chinese bronze sculptures, of a rat and a rabbit, looted from the ­Summer Palace in Beijing by British and French forces during the Opium wars. Shortly before the auction, a French association attempted to block the sale in a French court, but its action was thrown out.

On the last day of the auction the two sculptures were sold to a buyer bidding on the telephone through Thomas Seydoux, a Christie’s specialist. The unidentified collector paid €15.74m for each head, well above the unpublished presale estimate of €8m-€10m each. Contrary to auction house practice, no paddle number was announced. “The buyer wanted absolute discretion,” said François de Ricqlès, the auctioneer, afterwards.

Chinese authorities on thursday stepped up their attack on Christie’s with the state administration of cultural heritage saying that officials would henceforth closely scrutinise all imports and exports of Chinese goods by the auction house.

Christie’s said it regretted the SACH statement.