In New York, the spring sale season is in full swing and at Christie's auction house in Midtown Manhattan, artifacts from one of the most famous American philanthropic families, with strong ties to China, are coming under the hammer. CGTN's John Terrett reports.

The hammer comes down on the collection of Peggy and David Rockefeller. Gemma Sudlow's the auctioneer this morning at Christie's New York. Collectors discretely snapping up artifacts from one of America's most famous business and philanthropic families, one with a deep affection for Chinese culture.

The Marly Rouge dessert service was actually made in France, at Sevres, but only after years of study by the French into Chinese porcelain making techniques.

BECKY MACGUIRE, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT CHRISTIE'S NEW YORK "The Chinese been the only people to make porcelain for a long, long time until eighteenth century Europeans finally learned from China how to make porcelain, this particular service was actually commissioned by Napoleon and it was delivered to him, we know from the Sevres record books, at Fontainebleau in the Fall of 1809."

This is not the last we shall see of exquisite dessert services in this auction, but first who was John D. Rockefeller who started a dynasty.

John D. Rockefeller is known as the world's first billionaire. A quintessential "robber baron" of the 19th century, he began with nothing and built an incredible global business and philanthropic empire.

From the outset, Rockefeller was involved in the oil business in China, where he also championed Chinese causes, one of his first philanthropic endowments was...

BECKY MACGUIRE, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT CHRISTIE'S NEW YORK "The Peking Medical College, still ongoing today and I understand it's China's premier medical school, they founded it and funded it, it opened in 1917 and actually he and his wife travelled to China in 1921 for a wonderful ceremony."

You have to wonder what the old man would think of his ancestors selling off all this stuff from their multiple homes, probably happy it's all going to eleven different charities.

And we're not finished with dessert and dinner services yet, two more enormous ones are on sale today, both Chinese exports, like this so-called Tobacco Leaf dinner service circa 1775 with exuberant enameling.

BECKY MACGUIRE, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT CHRISTIE'S NEW YORK "The Rockefeller family used all of this porcelain. They didn't believe in hiding things away in storerooms or bank vaults. They very consciously believed that their beauty should be appreciated and shared and they should be given life by being used in entertaining friends and family."

This Chinese export dinner service carries the family name, Rockefeller Pattern, it's full of colorful Chinese characters and characteristics.

BECKY MACGUIRE, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT CHRISTIE'S NEW YORK "Each piece has a completely unique Chinese scene, it's beautifully and intricately enameled and it's fantastic to think how the enamelers sitting in their little workshops in China used their imaginations it doesn't seem to be scenes out of a particular drama or novel or folk story, it's just a whole mixture of charming scenes of gardens and families and children playing and of sages and immortals, they're completely fascinating and every single one is different."

And just in case you think this sale is all about dessert and dinner services, cast your eyes on this. A gilt-bronze figure of Amitayus commissioned by Emperor Kangxi, the first of the Qing sovereigns to rule over China proper, and one of the longest reigns at 61 years.

BECKY MACGUIRE, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT CHRISTIE'S NEW YORK "All of us can appreciate its beautiful sculptural qualities, but in addition to that for a gilt-bronze sculpture it's quite large it would have been enormously expensive to make, so we know only the Emperor would have had the means to do this and the clout to order it."

It's said the statue Amitayus signifies longevity, a long life, and that's something David Rockefeller, whose name is on this sale, certainly had, he died in 2016, aged 101! JT, CGTN, New York.