Artist's handwritten menus sell for $1.2m

Work by a famous artist can command a huge price - even if it's a stack of dinner menus.

A collection of handwritten menus by the prodigious Chinese guohua (traditionalist) painter Zhang Daqian was sold at Christie's in New York on Tuesday for about $1.2 million. Zhang was a committed foodie who would meticulously hand write menus for his private chef.

"Today Christie's sold in our March New York auction of fine Chinese paintings all the menus handwritten by Zhang Daqian. The total price was more than eight times the combined low estimates," said Elizabeth Hammer, head of sales for Chinese paintings at Christie's.