Auction introduction: This spring Asian Art week, Sotheby's presents a singular opportunity to acquire Han dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) works from the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Presented across 52 lots - all of which are offered without reserve - the sale comprises an extensive collection of impressed tomb bricks, all originally acquired from the esteemed dealers Yamanaka & Company around 1925 by Kate S. Buckingham. Commissioned for the construction of a tomb, each earthenware brick is impressed with auspicious themes and imagery from daily life and mythological stories.