A tiny cup from the Chengua-era (1465-1487) sold for HK$281 million ($36 million) at Sotheby’s Hong Kong today (April 9) – a record for a Chinese porcelain artefact.
The Meiyintang “Chicken Cup” may only be 8cm wide, but has been described by the auction house as ‘flawless’, with its depiction of a rooster and hen tending to their chicks.
The 15th century item is one of only 16 such Chenghua cups known to have survived from the time of the Ming Dynasty to the present day. Most are in public museums and not many have passed through auction. Just four remain in private ownership.
"There's no more legendary object in the history of Chinese porcelain," said Nicholas Chow, Sotheby's deputy chairman for Asia. "This is really the holy grail when it comes to Chinese art."
The auction house revealed the buyer to be collector Liu Yiqian, who later shared that fate of the cup would be to reside in his Long Museum in Shanghai, which he and his wife opened in 2012.
Liu was once a high-school dropout who drove taxi cabs before building his fortune to the sum of $900 million. Forbes estimates he is now the 200th richest person in China.
