Sotheby's Report Defends Chinese Scroll It Sold as Authentic SHANGHAI - Sotheby's said Tuesday that an ancient calligraphy scroll the auction house sold in September for $8.2 million was authentic, despite recent claims by a group of Chinese art historians who insisted it was likely a 19th-century reproduction. In a 14-page report, published in Chinese, Sotheby's said it had found no evidence that the work, Gong Fu Tie, by the Song Dynasty poet Su Shi, was a forgery. The piece has long been considered one of the greatest works of calligraphy. In a statement, Sotheby's said it "firmly stands by" the piece as a work produced by Su Shi. "We have published a detailed and comprehensive analysis rebutting each of the issues raised about the authenticity of the work," the auction house said in a statement. This report demonstrates that the brushwork of The Gong Fu Tie Calligraphy is inconsistent with that of a late copy or tracing as was alleged and is of such high quality that it could only have been created by a masterly hand using a soft brush. Furthermore, we have established that both the seals and colophon are genuine, serving as further proof that the piece was created by Su Shi. The forgery allegations came just months after the scroll had been sold at a New York auction to Liu Yiqian, a wealthy Shanghai businessman and collector. Mr. Liu, who planned to display it in his private museum in Shanghai, said that in preparation for viewing, he had allowed it to be examined by a group of art historians affiliated with the state-run Shanghai Museum. In interviews with various media outlets in China last month, Mr. Liu said he was surprised by the findings of the Chinese historians but also skeptical of them. He had said he would wait for Sotheby's and independent experts to review the case. The Shanghai historians, who have declined requests to be interviewed, argued that the scroll was likely to have been created between 1820 and 1871 by tracing a stone carving, and not the original calligraphy scroll, which had been produced about a thousand years ago. If the work were deemed a forgery it would be a major setback for Sotheby's, which is expanding in China and promoting its high standard of expertise in a fast-growing auction market here that has been plagued by fakes.