For nearly eight years Xiao Yuan, chief librarian at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, substituted paintings and calligraphies with his own art and sold the originals, making almost 35 million yuan (RM21.5 million), the court heard.
Works by 20th century painter Qi Baishi — whose Ode to the Motherland fetched A$15.6 million (RM43.8 million) at a Beijing auction in 2012 and is considered one of the world's highest valued artists — were among those removed by Mr Xiao.
Mr Xiao also replaced Rock and Birds by 17th century painter Zhu Da, which was valued at A$6.5 million (RM18.3 million), local media said.
The fraudster sold 125 of the paintings at auction, while another 18 in his personal collection seized by police were valued at around A$16.7 million (RM46.9 million), prosecutors said.
Xiao, 57, told the court that others were doing the same thing with his own paintings.
"During the investigation when the police showed me a picture of my copies, I realised that 10 years earlier someone had replaced it with their own copy, because their work was very poor," he said at Tuesday's hearing.
"I could see it wasn't my own work, the standard was too bad."
A spokesman at the Beijing branch of China Guardian Auctions confirmed Xiao was one of its clients, but said it was "still verifying the details related to his case".
Police have previously closed museums in China for displaying fake exhibits.
The Lucheng museum in the north-eastern province of Liaoning was closed last year after almost a third of the 8,000 items on display were discovered to be not genuine, state media said.
In 2013, a museum in the central province of Henan was found to have scores of fake exhibits, including a vase decorated with cartoon characters but described as a Qing dynasty artefact.
AFP
Wed Jul 22 2015
Police have previously closed museums in China for displaying fake exhibits. - AFP Photo
Piala Thomas: China buat kemarau 10 tahun Malaysia ke final berterusan
Penantian 10 tahun skuad badminton negara untuk ke final Piala Thomas berterusan apabila tewas 1-3 kepada China dalam aksi separuh akhir di Chengdu sebentar tadi.
AWANI 7:45 [04/05/2024] – Warisi banyak hutang | Terhempas di kawasan ladang | Keadaan cuaca tidak menentu | Pergaduhan dua kumpulan
Laporan berita padat dan ringkas #AWANI745 bersama Irfan Faruqi
Tumpuan #AWANI745 malam ini:
- PM dedah ada pemimpin tak puas hati kenaikan gaji penjawat awam
- Pesawat terhempas, semua terselamat
- Panas melampau di utara, banjir di selatan, cuaca terkini di Malaysia
- 28 lelaki ditahan pergaduhan dua kumpulan di Butterworth
Tumpuan #AWANI745 malam ini:
- PM dedah ada pemimpin tak puas hati kenaikan gaji penjawat awam
- Pesawat terhempas, semua terselamat
- Panas melampau di utara, banjir di selatan, cuaca terkini di Malaysia
- 28 lelaki ditahan pergaduhan dua kumpulan di Butterworth
KBS masih kenal pasti lokasi sesuai bina velodrom terbuka - Hannah
Sukan berkenaan merupakan antara yang menyerlah serta menyumbang pingat di kejohanan dalam dan luar negara.
Fakulti AI pertama negara dirasmikan 10 Mei ini - Zambry
Di peringkat permulaan, Fakulti Kecerdasan Buatan bermula di UTM dan ada juga konsortium dengan universiti yang lain juga.
Cabang eksekutif harus putuskan untuk keluarkan perkataan 'negeri' daripada DUN Sarawak - Speaker
Cabang eksekutif Sarawak harus memutuskan sama ada mengeluarkan perkataan 'negeri' daripada Dewan Undangan Negeri Sarawak, kata Speaker Tan Sri Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar.
PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu: Calon Bebas lancar manifesto, kemuka 20 tawaran
Calon Bebas Nyau Ke Xin hari ini melancarkan manifesto Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Kuala Kubu Baharu (KKB) yang mengandungi 20 tawaran.
Pusat dialisis Perkeso di Pulau Pinang hujung tahun ini
Pertubuhan Keselamatan Sosial (Perkeso) bakal membuka sebuah pusat dialisis di Pulau Pinang menjelang hujung tahun ini, kata Menteri Sumber Manusia Steven Sim Chee Keong.
RISDA usaha selesaikan 12,385 hektar kebun getah tidak bertoreh tahun ini
Hal ini bertujuan untuk memajukan semula sektor itu, selain membantu penoreh getah meningkatkan pendapatan mereka.
AWANI Ringkas: Ada usaha kurangkan majoriti
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
Separuh akhir Piala Thomas: Leong Jun Hao pamer semangat juang tinggi sebelum tewas
Perseorangan lelaki negara, Leong Jun Hao, mempamerkan semangat juang tinggi walaupun tewas kepada pemain tuan rumah, Li Shi Feng, dalam separuh akhir Piala Thomas di Chengdu sebentar tadi.
Cermin mata milik Mahathma Gandhi dijual pada harga RM1.4 juta
Individu yang memiliki cermin mata itu meninggalkannya dalam sampul surat yang diserahkan kepada pelelong tempatan di Bristol, England.