Twelve Landscape Screens produced by Qi Baishi. A collection of 12 beautiful landscapes produced by Qi Baishi (1864-1957), the ink-brush master artist of modern China, grossed 931.5 million yuan ($144 million) at a Beijing auction on December 17, 2017. The price set a new record for any piece of Chinese artwork sold at auction worldwide. The fierce bidding race began at 450 million yuan, and a telephone bidder eventually won this momentum body of Qi's work. The price also promotes Qi to be the first Chinese artist whose work has been sold for more than $100 million at auction.In 2010, an 18th-century famille rose rotation porcelain vase made during the reign of Qing Emperor Qianlong fetched 43 million pounds at an auction in London. Titled Twelve Landscape Screens, each of the paintings is framed in a vertical shaft of 1.8 meters long. Painted in 1925, they each show a lively natural scene with an elegant palette. (Photo/Weibo account of CCTV)
