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Torn ancient China painting to be joined in Taiwan

China painting nets record $65 million at auction
Beijing (AFP) May 23, 2011 - A work by Chinese artist Qi Baishi was sold at auction in Beijing at the weekend for 425.5 million yuan ($65.5 million) -- a new record for a contemporary Chinese painting, the auctioneers said Monday.

The 1946 painting of an eagle perched on the branch of a pine tree, surrounded by two calligraphy scrolls, measures 100 by 266 centimetres (three by 8.5 feet), the China Guardian auction house said.

Sunday's sale marked the second-highest amount ever paid for an artwork at auction in China, after the 436.8 million yuan paid in 2009 for a work by Song dynasty calligrapher Huang Tingjian, who lived during the 11th century.

Qi, who died in 1957, was one of the most prolific Chinese artists of the 20th century, and his works have recently become sought after.

The self-taught painter focused on depictions of nature such as plants, insects, birds and fish.

China Guardian did not reveal the identity of the buyer.

Chinese art prices have rocketed in recent years, fuelled by the country's economic boom and its growing numbers of super-rich.

China topped the United States in 2010 as the country with the richest art auctions, according to the French company Artprice, which tracks global deals.

China generated sales accounting for 33 percent of art sold worldwide in 2010, while the US cash registers took in 30 percent.

Britain represented 19 percent of the total, with France coming in fourth place with five percent.

After Pablo Picasso, the artist whose works brought in more cash than any other in 2010 was Qi, according to Artprice. Compatriots Zhang Daqian, Xu Beihong and Fu Baoshi were in third, eight and ninth place, respectively.

by Staff Writers
Taipei (AFP) May 23, 2011
One of China's best-known ancient paintings, torn into two parts in the 17th century, will soon be exhibited in its entirety in Taiwan for the first time in more than 360 years, organisers said Monday.

The public will be able from next week to see "Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains" as it was originally created, after China sent its piece to Taiwan on loan, the National Palace Museum in Taipei said in a statement.

"For more than 360 years, these two sections of the original scroll have never been displayed together," the museum said.

The Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) painting was partly destroyed in the middle of the 17th century, when its owner, a rich collector, ordered it burned shortly before his death, perhaps in hopes of taking it with him to the afterlife.

The collector's son managed to salvage most of the painting, but not before it was torn in two, and for the next three and a half centuries they were never reunited.

However, the new improved relationship between Taiwan and China means Zhejiang Provincial Museum in east China has agreed to lend the smaller section of the painting to join the bigger part at Taiwan's National Palace Museum.

"In recreating the original appearance of 'Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains,' audiences can glimpse a complete overview of this important masterpiece in Chinese art," the palace museum said.

The exhibition is slated for June 2 through September 5 in Taipei, but it is unlikely to be repeated on the mainland.

The Taipei museum has made it clear that so far it has no plan to loan the painting, fearing it would not be returned by Beijing, which still considers Taiwan part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.

The National Palace Museum boasts more than 655,000 artefacts spanning 7,000 years from the Neolithic period to the end of the Qing Dynasty in 1911.

They were removed from a Beijing museum in the 1930s to prevent them falling into the hands of invading Japanese troops and were taken to Taiwan by the Nationalists as they fled communist forces on the mainland.



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