China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration has formed a special team to verify the circumstances surrounding a recent controversy involving the Nanjing Museum, CCTV reported Tuesday.

The probe follows public concern after Spring in Jiangnan, a Ming dynasty painting by Qiu Ying that was donated to the museum by the descendants of renowned collector Pang Laichen, was reportedly spotted at a Beijing auction with an estimated value of 88 million yuan (USD12.5 million).