Shanghai billionaire grabs top purchases in spring auction

Copy of Guan Tong's Landscape by Zhang Daqian. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Beijing Council International Auction concluded its major spring sales with a total turnover of 2.56 billion yuan ($389 million) last week. At least five of its top transactions were made by Shanghai billionaire-cum-collector Liu Yiqian.

Liu acquired an ink-and-color painting album featuring 100 flowers created by Jiang Tingxi, a famed court painter of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), for 173 million yuan.

Shaoshan Mountain by Li Keran. [Photo provided to China Daily]

He also purchased Zhang Daqian's Copy of Guan Tong's Landscape at 40 million yuan and Li Keran's "red classic" work Shaoshan Mountain at 83.9 million yuan.

He paid another 33 million yuan for a set of 12 blue-and-white "hua shen (fairies of flowers)" cups which were produced by the official kilns during the reign of Qing emperor Kangxi.

The works of art, as usual, will enrich the collection of Shanghai-based Long Museum that Liu co-founded with his wife, Wang Wei.

Hua shen. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Related:

Top 10 Chinese painting and calligraphy sales at spring auctions

'Red classic' ink-and-color landscape sold for $13m