1,000-year-old ink painting sells for $59.2m
An 11th-century Chinese ink painting fetched HK$463.6 million ($59.2 million) at a Christie's sale in Hong Kong on Monday night, making it one of the most expensive of all classic Chinese paintings and works of calligraphy sold at auction.
The monochromatic painting Wood and Rock, measuring only 26 by 50 centimeters, is attributed to Su Shi (1037-1101), a pre-eminent scholar, artist and statesman of the Song Dynasty (960-1279). Su's aesthetic views ushered Chinese art and culture into a new era.
Christie's confirmed that "a Chinese buyer" bought Wood and Rock. The international auctioneer didn't disclose where the buyer is from, or whether an individual or institutional collector was involved, saying in a news release their policy is to "honor the confidentiality" of buyers.
