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Chinese master's 1,000-year-old scroll may fetch $60m
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The work depicting a withered tree, new bamboo shoots and a rock is expected to fetch roughly $60 million at a Christie’s auction in Hong Kong. (Bloomberg/File)
A
record for Asian art may be broken Monday with the auction of a rare 1,000-year-old Chinese scroll rendered by the era’s most important artist.
The work depicting a withered tree, new bamboo shoots and a rock is expected to fetch roughly $60 million at a Christie’s auction in Hong Kong. The scroll is one of only two known to exist by the 11th century Song dynasty master Su Shi, who continues to inspire Chinese artists.
Su Shi is a household name in the country, revered as a scholar, statesman and writer often compared to Leonardo da Vinci.
Read also: US museum says five Dead Sea Scroll fragments fake
Qualified bidders must pay a deposit of $20 million just for the special gold-colored paddle used. The current owner is Japanese family that has possessed it since 1937. The scroll is embossed with seals showing its ownership and believed provenance back to 1644.
The only other scroll known by Su Shi resides in the National Palace Museum in Taiwan.
