The auction room -- standing room only -- broke into applause when the hammer finally went down . On sale was a tiny , white cup decorated with chickens , and the buyer was a prolific art collector from Shanghai , Liu Yiqian . At a price of HK $ 281.24 million ( $ 36.05 million ) , it was a record sale for auction house Sotheby 's -- the highest price reached for a Chinese porcelain artifact . The previous record , HK $ 252.6 million ( $ 32.4 million ) , was reached in 2010 for a Qianlong period vase , also at a Sotheby 's sale . `` Holy grail '' The 500-plus-year old Meiyintang Chenghua `` Chicken Cup , '' is one of a reported 17 existing worldwide , most of which reside in museums , with a small number -- like Liu 's new acquisition -- in private hands . It is so-called because of the decoration painted on its surface , showing two roosters , and a chicken tending her chicks . `` About a hundred years after they were made , in the late Ming dynasty , they were already highly sought after by emperors , '' Nicolas Chow , deputy chairman of Sotheby 's Asia and international head of Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art , tells CNN . `` By the late 17th century they were considered the most expensive objects money could buy . '' The record-breaking piece was the latest apogee in a spiraling global art auction market . The auction house describes it as `` arguably the most celebrated porcelain throughout the centuries . '' The piece was fired in the imperial kiln during the 15th century . Liu will house the incredibly rare item , known in collectors ' circles as the `` holy grail '' of Chinese ceramics , in his private Long Museum in Shanghai . Chinese money , Chinese art . Liu is one of China 's ultra-wealthy with an estimated net worth of $ 900 million , a former taxi driver who made his fortune in finance . He has said he `` does n't care '' about the price of the cup . Growing economic power from China , especially from super-rich Chinese collectors like Liu has contributed to Hong Kong 's transformation into one of the world 's auction hubs , and inflated prices around the globe . `` I think we 're in a one-way elevator upwards in terms of prices for Chinese art , '' says Chow . `` I think there 's no possible drop in the price of Chinese antiques . '' However , given the significance of this sale and the rarity and fame of the piece in question , Chow believes that the record is safe for a while . `` Objects of this kind of rarity ... there are n't many of them so I ca n't see ( this record being broken ) for a few years . '' Art or garbage ? The sale does raise questions about the value of art in today 's market , especially coming hot on the heels of the news that cleaners in a luxury Hong Kong hotel accidentally threw out a painting valued at almost HK $ 29 million ( $ 3.7 million ) . The South China Morning Post reported that the Chinese ink wash painting , `` Snowy Mountain , '' part of an auction hosted by the Grand Hyatt hotel , was seen being dumped by cleaners on security footage . The garbage was taken to a Hong Kong landfill but attempts to recover the painting so far have remained fruitless .
A small `` Chicken Cup '' breaks the record for a Chinese porcelain artifact sold at auction . The chicken cup is made of white porcelain, and was found in an ancient tomb near Xian in central China by archaeologists from China's Shaanxi Provincial Museum. Hong Kong , now an international auction hub , is popular among collectors from China . Cleaners at a luxury hotel in the city mistakenly threw out a valuable painting .