An exquisite 18th century silk weaving was sold for 35.75 million yuan (US$4.31 million) at auction in Beijing yesterday, setting a new benchmark for the sale of Chinese artworks locally.

Consigned by an overseas collector to the China Guardian Auction Co Ltd, it will go to a private Chinese museum after a breathtaking round of bidding. The final price, which includes the auctioneering fee, is also one of the highest in the world for an artwork.

The 17-metre-long, 32-centimetre-wide ke si, woven at the behest of Emperor Qianlong (reigned 1736-95), has almost all of the known calligraphic renderings from the poem Lanting Xu (Ode of the Orchid Pavilion) by the fourth century calligrapher and poet Wang Xizhi (321-379).

The authenticity is indisputable as the artwork bears five royal seals of Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) emperors and has been recorded in the royal collection index, or Shiqu Baoji, said Kou Qin, vice-general manager of China Guardian.

Kou said his staff traced the background of the silk weaving for two years before putting it onto the spring auction, which ended yesterday after the company had taken 369 million yuan (US$44.5 million) in bids.

Minutes before going under the hammer, Kou admitted there had been discussion that the irreplaceable piece could be passed due to its possible high reserve price.

But the company, which refused to speculate on a final price, started the bidding at a modest 9.50 million yuan (US$1.15 million). More than 10 bidders rapidly pushed the price up.

Only two people remained when the price broke through the 20 million yuan (US$2.41 million) barrier - a middle-aged woman and a younger man. Using mobile phones, they raised the price with 500,000 yuan (US$60,200) bids.

The woman fell silent after her competitor offered 31.5 million yuan (US$3.80 million), but she soon raised two fingers.

Eyes went back to her after the man casually took the price to 32.5 million yuan (US$3.92 million).

Cries of "wait" were heard when renowned auctioneer Zhang Xiangyou repeated the price three times. After a prolonged silence a voice went up from the crowd calling for an end to the auction, which prompted Zhang.

The male buyer, who told China Daily the artwork will go to a private Chinese museum, claimed that the price was reasonable. Kou said the final bid was unexpectedly high.

The previous record for a Chinese artwork was set in 2002, when "Yanshan Ming" (Record of Yanshan), by calligrapher Mi Fu (1051-1107), was bought by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage for 29.99 million yuan (US$3.6 million) from a private Japanese museum at auction.

(China Daily May 18, 2004)