In China, a Ming dynasty painting donated to a major museum resurfaces at auction

It could be the opening scene of a Qiu Xiaolong crime novel: a vanished painting, a prestigious museum and a state investigation stirring up decades of dusty secrets. An unprecedented controversy surrounding the collections of Nanjing Museum, located in Jiangsu province, has sent shockwaves through China’s art world. On December 23, Beijing opened an investigation after a museum treasure resurfaced on the auction market. The affair has combined suspicions of…