Christie’s to auction ‘highest-estimated Asian artwork’ in Hong Kong

Hong Kong: Auction house Christie’s unveiled on Monday what it called “the highest-estimated Asian artwork” to ever go under the hammer, a Xu Beihong painting called “Slave and Lion”, which it expects to fetch between $45 million and $58 million. The 1924 painting by Xu, who is regarded as one of the most important figures of Chinese realism, will go on public preview in Beijing and Shanghai this month before being auctioned in Hong Kong on May 24. Reuters

Cairo museum opens Pharaonic mummies hall

Cairo: With its dark-walled and dimly-lit open rooms, the crypt-like Royal Mummies Hall at Cairo’s new National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation has opened to visitors for the first time, displaying 20 mummies of ancient kings and queens. The opening of the magnificent mummies hall on Sunday coincided with the International Day for Monuments and Sites, also known as the World Heritage Day. IANS