A Storm in a Chicken Cup: A Burgeoning Market
Date
2015
Authors
Krischer, Olivier
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ANU Press
Abstract
SOTHEBY’S HAS A US$1.6 million dollar limit per credit card transaction. So it took the Shanghainese billionaire
Liu Yiqian 刘益谦 twenty-four swipes of his Amex card to purchase one of the most sought-after pieces of Chinese porcelain in the world: a Ming-dynasty teacup decorated with a delicate painting of chickens. While the payment was going through at the auction house in Hong Kong in late July 2014, Liu picked up the US$36 million cup, poured some tea into it and took a sip. The photo of him drinking from the cup ignited a storm of criticism in
China, where he was accused of vanity, vulgarity, risking damage to the cup and ostentation. ‘Emperor Qianlong
has used it,’ he said. ‘Now I’ve used it. I just wanted to see how it felt.’
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Open Access via publisher website