Ming-era \\\'chicken cup\\\' breaks world record

A rare Ming-era wine cup broke the world auction record for any Chinese porcelain on Tuesday, selling in Hong Kong for $36.05 million to Shanghai tycoon Liu Yiqian, Sotheby's auction house said. The tiny white porcelain cup, decorated with a colour painting of a rooster and a hen tending to their chicks, was made during the reign of the Chenghua Emperor between 1465 and 1487. The price sets a new record for Chinese porcelain, according to Sotheby's, beating the previous record held by a gourd-shaped vase from the Qianlong period, which sold for HK$252.66 million ($32.58 million) in 2010. The price far exceeded the previous world record for Ming Dynasty porcelain -- which was held by a blue and white vase that sold for HK$168.66 million in 2011, according to AFP.