A Storm in a Chicken Cup: A Burgeoning Market

Olivier Krischer

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

    Abstract

    Sotheby's has a US$1.6 million dollar limit per credit card transaction. So it took the Shanghainese billionaire Liu Yiqian 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.'
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationShared Destiny
    Editors G R Barme, L Jaivin and J Goldkorn
    Place of PublicationCanberra, Australia
    PublisherANU Press
    Pages201-203
    Edition1st
    ISBN (Print)9781925022933
    Publication statusPublished - 2015

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