Chinese collector buys royal Thangka for $45m

导读:周三，上海亿万富翁刘益谦以2.8亿元拍下巨幅明代永乐御制红阎摩敌刺绣唐卡，创下中国艺术品世界拍卖的最高纪录。

A Chinese collector bought a Ming Dynasty embroidered silk Tangka for $45 million at a Christie’s 2014 Hong Kong Autumn Auctions on Wednesday, setting a record for a Chinese artwork sold at international auction.

周三，一位中国收藏家在佳士得2014香港秋季拍卖会上以3.48亿港元（约合人民币208亿元）拍得一幅明代刺绣唐卡，创下了单件中国艺术品在国际拍卖会上的成交记录。

The price that the collector, Liu Yiqian, agreed to pay for the intricately embroidered 600-year-old hanging, was reached after an intense 22-minute competition that came down to two telephone bidders: Mr. Liu, a Shanghai-based billionaire financier, who was represented by Cai Jinqing, president of Christie’s China, and an international bidder, who was represented by Fran?ois Curiel, the chairman of Christie’s Asia Pacific. The final price included Christie’s buyer’s premium of $5 million.

这位收藏家名叫刘益谦，在经过22分钟的紧张竞拍后，终于成交。他拍下的这件作品是一幅拥有600年历史的唐卡，其刺绣工艺十分复杂。到竞拍的最后阶段，只有通过电话参与的两名买家还在继续出价：一位是由佳士得中国执行董事蔡金青代表的从事金融业的上海亿万富翁刘益谦，另一位则是由佳士得亚太地区主席高逸龙代表的一位国际买家。最终价格包括佳士得买家需支付的五百万美元的佣金。

In a telephone interview Mr. Liu said he was looking forward to bringing the rare 15th century piece back to China. “Before, our country wasn’t very strong or prosperous, so many things were lost to overseas buyers. Now that we have accumulated wealth, we need to deepen our own cultural sophistication. So we are buying Western art, to say nothing of our own art.”

刘益谦在电话采访中表示，他很期待将这件罕见的15世纪的作品带回中国。“我认为现在跟很多年前不一样，我们当年的国力不是很强，所以很多东西都流落到了国外。我们现在有了财富，我们需要怎么样从文化程度上来提高我们的修养呢？所以我们今天西方文化作品也在买，何况我们自己的文化。”

The tangka, which measures 84 by 132 inches, depicts Raktayamari, a meditational deity in Mahayama Buddhism, in an embrace with his consort, Vajravetali. Commissioned by Emperor Yongle in the early 15th century, the piece is thought to have been given as a gift in diplomatic exchanges with Tibet, according to Christie’s. While its early whereabouts remain unclear, it has been sold at auction several times in recent decades, most recently in 2002 when it went for about $4 million at a Christie’s sale in Hong Kong.

这幅唐卡长3.35米，宽2.13米，上面描绘的是红阎摩敌—大乘佛教中的禅定尊—与其明妃毘院利金刚相拥的场景。根据佳士得提供的信息，这幅作品由明朝永乐帝于15世纪初下令御制，应为与西藏交流时的赠礼。尽管这幅唐卡早年下落不明，但是近几十年来，它曾多次在拍卖会上亮相。最近的一次是在2002年，在佳士得的香港拍卖会上以3087万港元成交。

Mr. Liu, a former taxi driver who built a fortune through stock trading in real estate and pharmaceuticals, and his wife, Wang Wei, are two of China’s biggest and most active art collectors. Much of the couple’s collection, made up of mostly traditional and contemporary Chinese art, is on display at their privately owned Long Museum, which has two locations in Shanghai. The tangka, Mr. Liu said, will also occasionally be put on display in the museums.

刘益谦当过出租车司机，后来靠房地产和制药领域的股票交易积累了财富。他与妻子王薇已经跻身中国最重要、最活跃的艺术品收藏家行列。夫妇二人的很多藏品在他们自己兴建的龙美术馆展出，其中大多是传统和当代的中国艺术品。这座美术馆在上海有两个展馆。刘益谦表示，这幅唐卡也会偶尔在龙美术馆展出。

来源:爱语吧爱语吧作者:Summer