700-year-old Chinese scroll sells for $41.8M in Hong Kong
A 700-year-old painted scroll from the Yuan Dynasty has been sold for $41.8 million at an auction in Hong Kong
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A 700-year-old Chinese painted scroll from the Yuan Dynasty fetched 306.6 million Hong Kong dollars ($41.8 million) at a Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong.
The 6.6-feet scroll, titled “Five Drunken Princes Returning on Horseback” is by Ren Renfa, a renowned Chinese artist and government official.
The painting depicts the princes riding horses, together with four attendants. One of the princes is Li Longji, who later became the longest-reigning Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty.
The scroll has been documented in imperial collections and bears a collection of seals, including those of several emperors In 1922, the “Five Drunken Princes Returning on Horseback” scroll was transported out of the Forbidden City by Pu Yi, the last emperor of China, after the fall of Qing dynasty.
The artwork was initially estimated to sell between about $10 million and $15.5 million. Many of Ren’s 21 paintings are held in museums or owned by private collectors.
“This painting depicts the story of the five drunken princes after they had a very happy time, and then they got drunk and went back home,” said Sally Fong, a specialist of classical Chinese paintings at Sotheby's “Among the five princes, one of them is the future emperor. In this painting, we can see that he was depicted as the one who can tolerate the drunkenness, to go back home together with the other drunken princes.”