In an event that may shed light on the strength of the arts and collectibles market in Australia, the country is due to host what is described as one of the largest single-owner sales in March this year, Bonhams, the auctioneers, say.

The sale of the Laverty Collection, which features previews in London (February) and New York (March), is held ahead of the auction in Sydney at the Museum of Contemporary Art on 24 March.

The auction is estimated to be worth between A$3.88 million to A$5.57 million, the auctioneer firm said in a statement. Those sort of figures make the sale “Australia’s most valuable sale of a single collection of Indigenous and non-indigenous contemporary Australian art”, the firm said.

The auction will be one of the first major such sales to be held in the Asia-Pacific region, which has been strong in recent years, reflecting the rising affluence of the region. As reported in early December, Christie's,t the auctioneers, achieved over $333.8million in total at Hong Kong sales in November 2012, for example.

Embracing a variety of styles, the Laverty family has built the collection for more than 40 years, covering Indigenous and non-indigenous art. A total of 266 works go on sale.  

Highlights touring London and New York include major works by William Robinson, Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Rosalie Gascoigne, Eubena Nampitjin, Boxer Milner Tjampitjin, Peter Booth, John Mawurndjul, Ildiko Kovacs, Ken Whisson, Tommy Watson, Paddy Bedford, Aida Tomescu, Louise Hearman, Robert Klippel, Prince of Wales, Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri, and Sunfly Tjampitjin.

The  collection also features museum-quality works that have been sought by and lent to major galleries around the world, including the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, the Museum Ludwig in Cologne, and, most recently, Paris’s Musée du quai Branly as part of the National Gallery of Victoria’s touring exhibition Tjukurrtjanu: Origins of Western Desert Art.