Wang is one of the Four Great Painters Surnamed Wang from the 17th century for their achievements in the shanshui (mountain-and-water) painting style. He is also one of the Six Master Painters of the early Qing Dynasty.

In the painting, Wang integrated the grandeur of the northern school with the south's elegance and scholarly tastes.

The painting boasts a sound provenance judging from the seal stamps of several collectors on it. It was once owned by Zhang Xueliang (1901-2001), the Kuomintang general who is known for co-instigating the 1936 Xi'an Incident. Zhang was an avid collector of classical Chinese paintings since his 20s.

The painting even has a piece of paper attached to it on which master painter Zhang Daqian made appreciative comments about it in 1981.

Meanwhile, paintings and calligraphic pieces dated before 1911－the founding year of the Republic of China－have registered an eye-catching performance in the auction market this year. Five works from before 1911 rank among the top 10－by price－traditional Chinese paintings and calligraphy sold at auction so far this year.

Zhao Xu, Poly's executive director, says the market for traditional paintings and calligraphy received a boost from 2009 when Belgian couple Myriam and Guy Ullens auctioned their collection of classical Chinese art, acquired mostly at international auctions.

"Top-notch artworks will arouse heated competition among superrich collectors no matter how the economy fares," he says.

Contact the writer at linqi@chinadaily.com.cn