The largest imperial seal used by Emperor Kangxi has been auctioned in Hong Kong for around 12 million US dollars.

An imperial seal of Qing dynasty Emperor Kangxi has been sold for HK$92 million at an auction in Hong Kong on April 6, 2016. At a Sotheby’s sale at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, the Seal of the Mandate of Heaven was snapped up after just a few minutes of fierce bidding.[Photo/Ecns.cn]

Sotheby's hasn't said who purchased the seal, other than to say the buyer is from Asia.

Sotheby's Nicolas Chow says the 12-million US dollar purchase is the 3rd highest price ever paid for a Chinese imperial seal sold at an auction.

"These objects are very, very hard to price, because you're not really selling the physical object as it is, you're not selling a piece of wood, you're selling the symbolism of the seal. So it's always very hard to gauge how much it will fetch. $12 million is an extraordinarily strong price for an object like that."

Imperial seals were pieces of wood engraved with the Emperor's name and title, and were used to mark official documents issued by the court.

Kangxi ruled China for 61-years from 1661 to 1722, making him the longest-ruling Emperor in Chinese history.

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