![The 1917 painting that was sold at $170m (about 588 billion Uganda Shillings).](https://i0.wp.com/matookerepublic.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/christies.jpg?resize=620%2C349)
Sex and nudity sells, and it is little wonder than when nude photos, especially of celebrities like Desire Luzinda leak, Uganda is thrown into a frenzy.
The BBC reports that a painting by Italian artist Modigliani was sold at a New York auction on Monday for $170.4m (Shs588billion), the second-highest price ever for a work sold at auction.
The painting, titled Nu couche (Reclining Nude) painted between 1917 and 1918 was sold at Christie’s in New York to a Chinese collector.
It had never been sold at auction before, having been in the same private collection for about 60 years.
The top price achieved for an art work at auction was Picasso’s Les femmes d’Alger which sold for $179m (Shs619billion). It was also sold at the same art gallery in May this year.
Chinese billionaire Liu Yiqian confirmed to the New York Times that he had purchased the painting.
![Chinese antique collector Liu Yiqian, founder of Long Museum, shows the porcelain Chicken Cup of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) Emperor Chenghua Period, which was bought for US$36 million at a Hong Kong auction, ahead of a special exhibition at the Long Museum in Shanghai, China, 17 December 2014. Antique collector Liu Yiqian returned to Shanghai from Hong Kong on July 19 carrying not just any ordinary suitcase. His luggage held a rare porcelain cup bought for HK$280 million (US$36 million) at a Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong on April 8. In an interview with the Shanghai Morning Post, he could hardly contain his enthusiasm over the Chicken Cup, so named for its depiction of a rooster, a hen and chicks. Returning the cup to China after more than a hundred years overseas was a great pleasure for him, he said, proudly calling himself the first mainland Chinese owner of the piece. The cup was made during the reign of the of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) emperor Chenghua, who ruled from 1465 to 1487 CE. Liu said it is vital to the Long Museum, which boasts ceramics from the Ming and Qing dynasties but up until now has had none from the Chenghua emperor's time. Liu placed the cup in a bonded warehouse for artwork to avoid paying the import duty of HK$60 million (US$7.75m), which he said allows him to put it on display in Shanghai for half a year before having to take it to Hong Kong briefly before returning it to Shanghai. He said his museum boasts one of the best collections of ceramics in the world, and he is holding an exhibition called "The World of Zhu Jianshen A Chinese Emperor's Life and His Era - Ming Dynasty Chenghua Period Doucai Chicken Cup" with the newly acquired Chicken Cup as the centerpiece.](https://i0.wp.com/matookerepublic.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/li-yiquan.jpg?resize=2865%2C1910)
Who is Liu Yiqian?
Liu Yiqian is one of China’s biggest art collectors. Born in Shanghai in a working class family in 1963, he previously worked as a handbag seller and taxi driver. He made his fortune trading stocks in the 1980s and 1990s
Liu Yiqian and his wife have opened two art galleries in Shanghai. He is known for his high-profile bids and stunts – including when he drank from an ancient $36m ceremonial cup he had just bought at an auction in 2014.