PARIS - BIDS for couturier Yves Saint Laurent's private art collection hit 206 million euros (S$400.2 million) on Monday, making it the most expensive ever auctioned with two days still left to run.

Six world record bids for works by major modern artists, and dozens of lesser sales, confirmed the global reputation of the collection amassed over half a century by Saint Laurent and his lifelong companion Pierre Berge.

JUDGE AUTHORISES SALE OF CHINESE BRONZES PARIS - A FRENCH judge authorised Monday the sale of two Chinese bronzes at an auction of Yves Saint Laurent artworks, rejecting a plea for them to be returned to China. The 18th century Qing dynasty bronzes - part of a collection looted 150 years ago by British and French troops from the imperial Summer Palace - are to go under the hammer on Wednesday. ... more

Hundreds of buyers gathered under the spectacular glass and cast iron vaults of the Grand Palais exhibition hall on the banks of the Seine, transformed for the historic three-day event into a cavernous high-tech auction house.

The biggest bid for the night was for a Matisse painting, 'Cuckoos on a blue and pink carpet", which went for a record 32 million euros, smashing the auctioneer's pre-sale estimate of 18 million euros. By contrast, the much anticipated Pablo Picasso work 'Musical Instruments on a Table' flopped. Bidding fell short of the 25 million euro guide price, the biggest in the collection, and the piece was withdrawn unsold.

Nevertheless, works by other artists, including Dutch abstract painter Piet Mondrian, Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi and French innovator Marcel Duchamp, earned record sums, well above earlier estimates.

Buyers in furs filed past a marble minotaur statue of the first century AD and elegant hostesses in Saint Laurent's trademark dark tailored suits ahead of what had been widely dubbed the 'Sale of the Century'.

As the winter twilight cast dramatic shadows among the works, crowds of well-heeled international connoisseurs, bidders gathered in front of a huge screen where each item was to be displayed.

After Saint Laurent's death last June aged 71, Mr Berge chose to part with the 732 pieces, collected to grace the couple's apartments and country retreats, from Paris' Left Bank to their Moroccan bolthole in Marrakech.

Tuesday will focus on old masters, 19th-century art and Art Deco and end Wednesday with sculptures, archaeological pieces, ceramics and Asian art. This will now include two disputed 18th century Qing dynasty bronzes after a French judge threw out a last-ditch legal bid by a French-based Chinese art association to halt the sale of what it regards as looted goods.

Proceeds from the three days of sales will be split between medical research and the fight against AIDS, and a Berge/Saint Laurent Foundation honouring the designer's work. -- AFP