Chinese emperor's seal sold at a record price

BEIJING, July 13 (AFP) - The largest seal ever used by an emperor of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and recently retrieved from overseas sold for six million yuan (722,000 US dollars) at an auction in China, state media said Sunday.

Bidding for the seal, which was said to have been used by Emperor Kang Xi, the fourth emperor of the Qing Dynasty, began at 1.6 million yuan, but soared to a final price of six million yuan. It was a record high for the auction of an imperial seal, the Xinhua news agency said.

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Huachen, a spokesperson for the auctioneer, said the seal featuring carvings across its 9.5 square-centimeter (1.47 square-inch) surface, had been retrieved from a US collector and then sold to an unidentified Chinese buyer.

Kang Xi's seals were first auctioned last spring in China at a price of 3. 55 million yuan. Another set of 12 of the emperor's seals sold for 2.4 million dollars at a Hong Kong auction.

A Chinese emperor's seals were regarded as a symbol of his power.

Records show that Emperor Kang Xi had 120 seals, most of which were lost in Europe after allied forces looted Beijing in 1900.

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