A rare wine cup fired in the kilns of China's Ming dynasty more than 500 years ago sold for HK$281.2-million (R380-million) at a Sotheby's sale in Hong Kong, making it one of the most expensive Chinese relics ever auctioned.
The tiny porcelain cup from the Chenghua period, dating from 1465 to 1487, is painted with cocks, hens and chicks, and is known simply as a "chicken cup".
It is considered one of the most sought-after items in Chinese art, viewed with a reverence perhaps equivalent to that for the Fabergé eggs of Tsarist Russia.
"Every time a chicken cup comes up on the market, it totally redefines prices in the field of Chinese art," said Nicolas Chow, deputy chairman of Sotheby's Asia, after the sale.
The last time a chicken cup was auctioned, in 1999, it fetched HK$29m, about a 10th of yesterday's price.
Sixteen known Chenghua chicken cups survive and most are in public museums. Only four are in private hands.
The cups fired in the imperial kilns of Jingdezhen were prized by Chinese emperors and aficionados through the centuries for their quality, rarity and legendary silky texture.
In a packed auction hall, bidding for the delicate, palm-sized cup began at HK$160-million and drew steady bids from three parties, before being eventually sold to Chinese collector Liu Yiqian for a bid of HK$250m plus fees.
The amount exceeded the previous auction record for Chinese art - $32.4m paid for a Qing double-gourd vase in 2010.
The cup had come from the celebrated Western collection of Chinese ceramics known as the Meiyintang, accumulated over half a century by Swiss pharmaceutical tycoons the Zuellig brothers.
With the purchase by Liu, a Shanghai-based billionaire with his own private museum, the Meiyintang centrepiece is expected to become the only known genuine chicken cup in China.
Over the past decade, prices of Chinese art have soared with the country's economic boom, and while the market has moderated since 2011, demand for the highest quality Chinese art has remained undiminished.
National pride and the cachet of historical relics such as chicken cups have fuelled Chinese buying both on the world stage and at home, where a slew of auction houses have sprouted up to ride the market.
Still, some experts said China's slowing economy and credit squeeze may have sapped some enthusiasm.
"There were not as many bidders, which was kind of surprising," said Richard Littleton, a Western dealer at the sale.
"Where is all this big Chinese money we were expecting to see?"
Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package. 
