The colored scroll, titled Ten Auspicious Landscapes of Mount Taishan, is now in a private European collection and will also be auctioned by Sotheby's Hong Kong.

It depicts in each section a different view of the Tiantai Mountain in East China's Zhejiang province. Qian once served as the education commissioner in Zhejiang.

It boasts a varied brushwork and a mellow color scheme, according to Steven Zuo, head of Sotheby's classical Chinese paintings department.

He says people can see "the passion and dedication invested by Qian" in the scroll.

Qian presented the scroll as a gift to Emperor Qianlong, who himself appreciated classical ink paintings and Qian's artistic attainment, and who wrote on each landscape a poem.

linqi@chinadaily.com.cn