Chicken cup is far from chickenfeed . . . at US$36.3m.
When it comes to price, so-called chicken cups are far from being chickenfeed . . . as was made clear April 8 at Sotheby’s Hong Kong when a single cup fetched the equivalent of US$36.3m., exclusive of buyer’s premium. This set a new world record for a piece of Chinese ceramics. For avid and well-heeled collectors of Chinese ceramics, few pieces engender as much excitement as the small Ming dynasty-era bowls commonly known as “chicken cups.”
The bowl was bought by Shanghai billionaire property developer and collector Liu Yiqian who we have previously written about.
- Of 19 chicken cups known to exist, 15 are in museums. Photo courtesy EPA