700-year-old Chinese scroll depicting drunk royals sells for $ 60 million in Hong Kong

A 700-year-old Chinese painted parchment from the Yuan dynasty sold for $ 60 million (HK $ 306.6 million) at a Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong.

The 2m

The scroll, titled “Five Drunken Princes Returning on Horseback,” is by Ren Renfa, a renowned Chinese artist and government official.

The painting shows the princes mounted on horseback, along with four assistants. One of the princes is Li Longji, who later became Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty with the longest reign.

The parchment has been documented in imperial collections and carries a collection of stamps, including those of various emperors.

In 1922, the scroll was transported out of the Forbidden City by Pu Yi, the last emperor of China, after the fall of the Qing dynasty.

Initially, the artwork was estimated to sell for between $ 15 million and $ 23.5 million. Many of Ren’s 21 paintings are in museums or owned by private collectors.

“This painting represents the story of the five drunken princes after they had a very happy time, and then they got drunk and went home,” said Sally Fong, specialist in classical Chinese paintings at Sotheby’s.

“Among the five princes, one of them is the future emperor. In this painting, we can see that he was depicted as the one who can tolerate drunkenness, to go home together with the other drunken princes.”

– AP