An extremely rare fourteenth-century Chinese silk painting has been unveiled at the British Museum in London.

The painting, a hand-scroll called "The Fascination of Nature", is signed by the artist, Xie Chufang pronounced Syair Chufang, who is believed to have come from Jiangsu province in eastern China.

The work is from the Yuan dynasty, considered to be a key period in Chinese art history, when styles were revolutionised after the Mongol invasion.

The scroll was given to a visiting British delegation to China in the late-eighteenth century.

It will be on public show for four months.