A towering bronze sculpture by Fernando Botero and works by several Brazilian artists set auction records during Christie's Latin American sale on Wednesday.

Cast in 2007, Botero's "Dancers" fetched $1.76 million. Weighing 3,500 pounds (1.6 metric tones) and 10 feet 5 inches tall, it is probably the tallest Botero sculpture ever auctioned, said Virgilio Garza, Christie's Latin American art chief.

Overall, Christie's evening sale totaled $15.3 million.

"The results were exceptional. The Latin American art market is thriving," Garza said. "Nine records were set."

Mexican artist Franciso Toledo's set an auction record with his 1975 "Vaca Roja" (Red Cow), which sold for $902,500. It evokes the colors and mysticism of Toledo's native predominantly Indian state of Oaxaca and features cobalt-blue crabs scrambling over a cranberry-red cow on a dusty red landscape.

"Toledo is the most important Mexican artist working today. He has influenced generations of artists," said Garza. "He bridges the gap between the Mexican school of art (of the earlier 20th century) and post-war avant-garde abstraction."

Post-war Brazilian art drew the evening's most fervent and fast-paced bidding, driven by the paucity of work for sale on the international market by key Brazilian artists.

Alfredo Volpi's "Bandeirinhas Estruradas," (Structured Tiny Flags) fetched $842,500, hitting a record. The work draws viewers' eyes around the canvas of red, black and white triangles set on a deep blue field.

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