Classical Chinese paintings stand out at Beijing auction

The painting by Song Dynasty court painter Xia Gui portrays a poetic snowy scene of late autumn and early winter, in southern China. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Rare classical paintings dated to Song (960-1279), Yuan (1271-1368) and Ming (1368-1644) dynasties stood out at a Beijing auction by scooping up huge prices.

An ink painting album of 10 landscapes by early Ming painter Yun Shouping was sold for 81.6 million yuan ($12.4 million). He produced the paintings as a tribute to earlier master painters who greatly influenced him in techniques and styles.

Chinese retailer Suning Commerce Group made two big purchases in the sale staged by Beijing Poly International Auction on Sunday night.

A bamboo painting of Wu Zhen, one of the Four Masters of the Yuan Dynasty, fetched 77.6 million yuan. The work is considered a fine example of China's literati painting.

It used to be a collection of famed connoisseur Zhang Congyu. It was later acquired by antique dealer C.T. Loo who exported it abroad, and then transferred to the New York-based Chinese collector Chi-Chien Wang.

A landscape of court painter Xia Gui, hailed among the Four Masters of the Southern Song Dynasty, sold 27 million yuan. It portrays a poetic snowy scene of late autumn and early winter, in southern China.

Another big transaction of the auction was an album of 12 landscapes by Wang Hui, a master of late Ming and early Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. It went for 33 million yuan, and Wang executed the pictures in his 70s, copying previous works of precedent painters.