In Depth: A Lost Masterpiece’s Return Sparks a Scandal at a Top Chinese Museum

At her home in Suzhou on Dec. 21, 72-year-old Pang Shuling recalled the moment half a year earlier when the “Jiangnan Chun” scroll resurfaced. Her hands and heart, she said, still trembled.

On May 22, a friend had called to tell her that a scroll attributed to the Ming dynasty master Qiu Ying, then listed in China Guardian Auctions’ spring preview catalog, was a piece from the Xuzhai collection, once belonging to her great grandfather.