Chinese Painting Sells Highest

CHAN: When the Chinese oil painting, "Slave and Lion," sold for almost 7 million dollars at a Christie's auction, it broke the record for the most money ever paid for a Chinese painting. Art experts say this is probably part of a trend. Let's take a look at this record-breaking art.

STORY: A rare piece by renowned Chinese artist Xu Beihong has smashed the

record for a Chinese oil painting, selling for USD6.9 million at a Christie's auction in Hong Kong.

The work "Slave and Lion", far exceeded the pre-auction

estimate of USD4.1 million, underscoring the sustained

feverish demand from buyers for top quality works by Chinese artists.

[Vincpi Chang, Christie's VP]

"The price achieved today will set the benchmark for Chinese art.

So I'm actually quite positive looking forward to the future, that more record

prices will be broken."

Xu Beihong's "Slave and Lion" dates from the artist's stay in

Berlin in the early 1920s and depicts the story of the Roman slave Androcles

who pulled a thorn from a lion's paw.

A dark work rendered in Xu's realistic technique, it carries a distinct

Western form and subject, though with unmistakable Chinese line drawing

touches.

The seller was an unnamed Singapore collector and the buyer anonymous.