A giant, high-chromium egg topped with a bow was among the pieces of contemporary art to achieve a multi-million dollar price in New York this week, but the world’s two biggest auction houses still failed to match last year’s eye-watering totals on sales of modern art.

Baroque Egg with Bow by Jeff Koons sold to the artist's dealer Larry Gagosian for $5.4m following lacklustre bidding at Sotherby's on Tuesday, where total sales of $47m fell short of the auction house's $52m to $72m estimate.