Porcelain Cup Sells for £22m

A porcelain cup with a diameter of just eight centimetres has sold at auction for almost £22m, setting a new world record.

The so-called 'chicken cup' - which depicts a rooster and a hen looking after thier chicks, is 500 years old and was made during the reign of the Ming Dynasty's Chenghua Emperor. Only 17 cups of this type exist, with 13 in museums and just 4 in private hands. The previous highest sale of Chinese porcelain was for £19.3m in 2010.

The buyer was Liu Yiqian who has a personal fortune of £538m - so he can afford it. It is likely that it will go on display in Liu's Long Museum in Shanghai.

Nicholas Chow of Sotheby's commented, "There's no more legendary object in the history of Chinese porcelain. This is really the Holy Grail when it comes to Chinese art."

The Holy Grail might come in a bit cheaper.

[via BBC]

(Image: Press Association)