MING DYNASTY BANKNOTE FOUND INSIDE SCULPTURE

Mossgreen auction specialists in Australia have discovered a rare Ming Dynasty banknote hidden within the cavity of a 13th Century Chinese Sculpture which is coming to London for viewing on Thursday 3 – Sunday 6 November at The Beaumont Hotel, 8 Balderton Street, Brown Hart Gardens, London W1K 6TF (by appointment).

The crumpled banknote was found inside the head of a large, Chinese wooden sculpture of a Luohan which is to be offered at auction by Mossgreen as part of The Raphy Star Collection of Important Asian Art on December 11th in Sydney.

The sculpture and the banknote will be sold together as one lot. The value of the note alone is approx. AUD $3,000-5,000 but it will be sold as the one lot so the overall value is AUD$40,000-60,000.

Specialist Ray Tregaskis, Head of Asian Art at Mossgreen said, ‘It was a thrilling moment. While it was not unusual for consecration items such as semi-precious stones or scrolls to be left within the base or on the back of a sculpture, the discovery of this rare Ming Dynasty banknote is an exciting one and importantly, it verifies the date of the sculpture.’

Luohan is a Chinese word used to describe those who have completed the four stages of Enlightenment and reached the state of Nirvana. The facial features in this image of Luohan are superbly defined, and it wears a wise, serene expression.

The banknote found inside the sculpture is stamped with three official red seals and dated the third year of the Ming Dynasty, the Hong Wu period (1368-1398). The note is inscribed "Da Ming Tong Xing Bao Chao", "Yi Guan" and the lower section is inscribed, ‘Authorized by the Department of Finance, this bank note has the same function of coins, those who use counterfeit bank note will be beheaded, the whistle-blower will be rewarded 250 Liang silvers plus all the properties of the criminal. The third year of Hong Wu period.’

To read the complete article, see:
Mossgreen auction specialists discover a rare 700-year-old Ming Dynasty banknote inside sculpture (http://artdaily.com/news/90758/Mossgreen-auction-specialists-discover-a-rare-700-year-old-Ming-Dynasty-banknote-inside-sculpture#.WAQADuArKhd)

John Mutch forwarded this BBC News podcast about the note. Thanks. I added a link to an Antiques Trade Gazette article which included an image of the scuplture. -Editor

To read the complete articles, see:
The man who found a 700-year-old banknote (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04brm16)
Rare Ming Dynasty banknote found lurking inside Chinese sculpture (www.antiquestradegazette.com/news/2016/rare-ming-dynasty-banknote-found-lurking-inside-chinese-sculpture/)

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