Emperor Qianlong's dragon seal sells for $22m

An 18th-century Chinese imperial seal sold for a record $22 million in Paris on Wednesday - more than 20 times its estimate, the Drouot auction house said, a world record for this kind of bids.

Decorated with nine stylized dragons, the symbol of imperial authority, the extremely rare stamp in red and beige nephrite jade comes from the Qianlong period.

It was snapped up by an unnamed Chinese collector after a furious bidding battle between telephone buyers and those in the salesroom.