A Ming Painting Donated to Nanjing Museum Resurfaces at Auction, Prompting Investigation

A Ming dynasty handscroll attributed to the painter Qiu Ying that was donated to the Nanjing Museum more than six decades ago has reappeared in a Beijing auction catalogue, triggering official investigations and renewed scrutiny of how works in state museum collections are assessed and disposed of.

The work, commonly known as Spring in Jiangnan (Jiangnan Chun), was included in a spring auction preview with an estimate of 88m yuan (around $12.5m). The sale was halted after the consign­ment drew public attention and objections from descendants of the original donor family.

The scroll formed part of a 1959 gift of 137 paintings and calligraphies from the heirs of the industrialist and collector Pang Yuanji, also known as Pang Laichen, whose Xuzhai collection was considered one of the most significant private holdings of classical Chinese art in the early 20th century. Family representatives say the scroll, which bears multiple collector seals and inscriptions, was among the best-known works in the group transferred to the museum.

China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration announced in December that it had formed a working group to examine the case. Authorities in Jiangsu province have also established a joint task force involving cultural, disciplinary and law-enforcement bodies to review the object’s history and any related transactions.

Nanjing Museum said in a public statement that the painting was judged to be inauthentic by expert panels in the early 1960s and again later that decade, and that it was subsequently removed from the core collection. According to records cited by the museum, the work was included in a batch of more than 1,200 items classified as non-collection material and transferred in the late 1990s to a provincial cultural relics store for disposal under then-existing procedures. An invoice dated 2001 lists the sale of an “imitation Qiu Ying landscape scroll” for 6,800 yuan.

Scholars and market specialists have questioned both the historic attribution process and the disposal pathway. Contemporary reviews of the early appraisal campaigns note that large volumes of objects were examined in compressed timeframes. Some experts also argue that even if the main painting were judged a later copy, associated inscriptions and materials could still constitute a historically significant artifact.

Conflicting accounts have emerged over how the scroll entered private hands. Business records and published interviews indicate that the work later belonged to the collector Lu Ting and his company, Yilanzhai Art, before being pledged as collateral for loans and eventually transferred to another collector, who consigned it for auction.

The case has also drawn attention to governance arrangements in the 1990s, when the same senior official, Xu Huping, held leadership roles connected to both the museum and the provincial relics store involved in disposals. Xu has denied wrongdoing. Retired staff and outside commentators have called for a full audit of past deaccessions.

Members of the Pang family have filed legal claims seeking the return of works removed from the original donation. Legal specialists say the dispute raises broader questions about donor intent, public-benefit obligations and the limits on selling objects from state museum collections. The investigations are ongoing.