[Photo provided to China Daily]

The British gallery－which brought several Monets－was not alone in bringing museum-level works for sale at the fair.

One of Monets, the well-known series of lotus painted in 1919, was expected to fetch $45 million and Fuller expected a potential buyer among museums in China.

Rossi & Rossi gallery offered an ancient Chinese painting dating back to the 15th century, priced at more than $20 million.

The Lioness, painted in 1483, depicts two foreigners from Central Asia taming a lioness. It was a gift presented by a king of Uzbekistan to Emperor Zhu Jianshen of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

Fabio Rossi, the director of Rossi & Rossi, says that the painter remained unknown.

Some scholars think it was done by a Chinese painter, while others believe that it was created by a Central Asia Muslim artist who was trained in Chinese painting skills.

Besides the painting, the gallery had thangka paintings and Buddha sculptures, done by artists from China, Nepal, India and Mongolia.