An anonymous collector has bought a Chinese oil painting in Hong Kong for the equivalent of $7.8 million Cdn, setting a record price ever paid for such a work of art.

Slave and Lion was sold at a Christie's auction on Sunday. The price exceeds a benchmark set only last month for Chinese oil paintings when Danshui by Taiwanese artist Chen Chengbo fetched more than $5 million at a Sotheby's event.

A painting by Chinese painter Xu Beihong entitled Slave and Lion sold for $7.8 million Cdn at an auction in Hong Kong.
(Vincent Yu/Associated Press)

Xu Beihong created Slave and Lion during his stay in Berlin during the early 1920s. It depicts the story of Roman slave Androclus, who pulled thorn from a lion's paw. His act of kindness inspires the Roman emperor to free him.

The work blends Western form and subject with Chinese line drawing touches.

Five months ago, another Xu painting — Silly Old Man Moves a Mountain — sold in Beijing for $4.35 million.

Newly-rich ready to invest in art

Christie's sale of more than 2,000 Chinese works of art and objects from the 20th Century was a goldmine, with buyers and collectors snapping up pieces beyond their estimated bid price.

Another major work, Potted Chrysanthemum in a Blue and White Jardiniere by Sanyu, went for $4.25 million.

Ken Yeh, the deputy chairman of Christie's Asia, said there's pent-up demand for art from the new wealthy class in Asia, whose bank accounts are brimming with cash from a bullish stock market.

"There's just too much money around. People are just eager to buy," Yeh said prior to Sunday's bidding. He added that the newly-rich see art as a valuable asset.

Last week, Hong Kong real estate tycoon Joseph Lau, paid $17.4 million for pop artist Andy Warhol's iconic portrait of China's Mao Zedong.

Yeh said at least one out of four buyers at Christie's auctions are Chinese and that number is rising.

Christie's estimates Hong Kong is the world's third most important art market after New York and London.