Ming Dynasty-Era Chicken Cup Sells for $36 Million at Auction

cup

Normally when you’re drinking a cup of tea it might be from a mug that has a funny message on it, or something sentimental from Father’s or Mother’s day.  Rarely does one drink out of a cup that’s valued quite as high as the record setting Ming Dynasty-Era chicken cup that was recently sold for a record setting $36 Million.

This week the rare cup was sold in Hong Kong through acclaimed auctioneer Sotheby’s. Sotheby’s said Liu Yiqian was the winning bidder for the small white cup which is considered the “holy grail” of China’s art world. The cup measures just 8 centimeters (3.1 Inches) in diameter and is more than 500 years old. The vessel is known as a “chicken cup” because it’s decorated with a rooster and hen tending to their chicks.

It was made during the reign of the Ming Dynasty’s Chenghua Emperor, who ruled from 1465 to 1487. Sotheby’s said there are only 17 such cups in existence, with four in private hands and the rest in museums. “There’s no more legendary object in the history of Chinese porcelain,” said Nicholas Chow, Sotheby’s deputy chairman for Asia. “This is really the holy grail when it comes to Chinese art.”

Considering how rare an item the cup is and how expensive is it, bidding was limited to only a handful of people. Sotheby’s commission on the piece was over $4 Million which brought the total to the $36 Million figure. The previous record for Chinese Porcelain was set in 2010 and the price tag on a Qianlong vase was $32 Million.

The winning bidder, Liu Yiqian, is a middle-school dropout who drove a cab before becoming a multimillionaire. Forbes estimates his fortune at $900 million, making him the 200th richest person in China.

Photo: Vincent Yu, AP

Written by Worthly