Keep on the lookout for a Chinese chicken cup

Next time you're at an auction or estate sale, or in a thrift shop, pay attention to the porcelain offerings.

A rare wine cup fired in the imperial kilns of China's Ming dynasty more than 500 years ago has been sold in Hong Kong for HK$281.2m (£21.7m), making it one of the most expensive Chinese cultural relics ever auctioned.

The tiny porcelain cup from the Chenghua period, dating from 1465 to 1487, is painted with cocks, hens and chicks, and is known simply as a "chicken cup". It is considered one of the most sought-after items in Chinese art, held in a reverence equivalent to that of the jewelled Fabergé eggs of tsarist Russia.

More details at The Guardian.