Dayue Tu scroll, Emperor Qianlong's Review of the Grand Parade of Troops

A Qing Dynasty imperial scroll that shows China's Emperor Qianlong leading 16,000 troops sold for HK$67.9 million ($8.7 million) at Sotheby's in Hong Kong today.

The 15.5-meter Dayue Tu is the third of four handscrolls commissioned by Qianlong in 1746 to show his military might, according to Sotheby's. Two of the scrolls are missing and the other is in the Palace Museum Beijing, said Sotheby's, which has its main salerooms in New York.

Sotheby's had said before the sale that the scroll may fetch HK$80 million. The antique was the star lot among 1,700 items that Sotheby's estimated would tally HK$2 billion over a five-day auction. Today is the final day of the sale.

The scroll, previously sold by Sotheby's rival Christie's International for about HK$30 million in April 2004, was consigned by an Asian private collector, who had been guaranteed a minimum price for the work.

Last night, a necklace set with a 102.56-carat yellow diamond -- the biggest of its kind to appear at auction -- failed to find a buyer at Sotheby's. The necklace had a high estimate of HK$74 million.

Hong Kong, the third-largest art market after New York and London, hosts biannual auctions by Sotheby's and Christie's that are considered barometers of market sentiment.