Today marks the beginning of New York’s annual spring Asia Week, when the city’s galleries, auction houses, and armories are filled with art and antiquities from the East. Sotheby’s will hold auctions of Chinese art today and Indian and Southeast Asian art tomorrow; Christie’s will also auction off Indian and Southeast Asian art and contemporary Indian art today. Dozens of galleries are exhibiting Asian paintings, ceramics, textiles, and sculpture this week and next.

Asia Week is dominated by two large armory shows, both celebrating their 10th anniversaries this year: the International Asian Art Fair at the Seventh Regiment Armory and the Arts of Pacific Asia Show at the Armory at Gramercy Park. The International Asian Art Fair, organized by the prestigious London producers Anna and Brian Haughton, features more than 55 exhibitors presenting art of every type and period from India, China, Japan, the Near East, the Himalayas, and Southeast Asia (including Japanese ceramicist Kawase Shinobu, exhibited by Joan B. Mirviss; see above article). The fair runs from April 1 to April 6 at the Seventh Regiment Armory, Park Avenue and 67th Street, 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. except Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is $16. Call 212-642-8572 or visit www.haughton.com for more information.

Meanwhile, at the Armory at Gramercy Park, the Arts of Pacific Asia Show will bring together 81 dealers from America and 11 other countries, exhibiting art and antiques from all over Asia, including Chinese bronzes, Japanese costumes, prehistoric stone sculptures, snuff bottles, rugs, and more. Highlights will include a rare 19th-century Balinese aristocrat’s ceremonial skirt, exhibited by Singapore’s Asiatic Fine Arts; a 19th-century silk and gilt thread brocade carpet made for the Imperial Palace in Beijing, shown by Gallery Arabesque of Stuttgart, Germany; and a rare large 18th-century Shan Buddha from Burma, shown by Thailand’s Antique Buddhas. The fair will hold a half-day preview today from noon to 7 p.m. and continue tomorrow, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission today is $30 a person, thereafter $15 a person. The fair is held at the Armory at Gramercy Park, Lexington Avenue and 26th Street. For more information, please go to www.shador.com

For more information about Asia Week and its participating galleries and exhibits, visit www.asianart.com.