A rare hand scroll copy of ancient Chinese calligrapher Wang Xizhi's work fetched a staggering 308 million yuan ($46.40 million) at the China Guardian autumn auction in Beijing on Saturday.
From the article on Xinhuanet.com...
Wang, who lived in the Jin Dynasty around the 4th century, is traditionally acclaimed as the Sage of Calligraphy. However, none of his original works exist, making this cursive script, named Ping'an Tie (Safety Wish Script), especially rare for its high quality copy and the clear history of the succession of its collectors, which date back to the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).
The script copy formerly constituted nine lines of characters. But it was torn into two parts, and the 24.5-cm-long, 13.8-cm-wide piece that was sold on Saturday is the first part with four lines composing 41 characters.
Although it was impossible to find out the exact year it was created, archaeologists believe the scroll came out in the 7th century, or even earlier.
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