Andy Warhol portrait of Mao goes on auction in Hong Kong

An Andy Warhol painting of Chairman Mao is to be auctioned in Hong Kong - and it could go to a Chinese bidder for a "homecoming" of sorts.

The portraits immortalised the founder of China's Communist Party as a pop art commodity in the vein of Warhol's Marilyn Monroe and Campbell soup, BBC News reports.

Based on a photo in Mao's Little Red Book, the portrait series is among the most famous images of the 20th Century.

The auction of this work is expected to fetch as much as $15m.

This particular Mao portrait was sold in 2014 in London for £7.6m ($9.4m) and the current owner, who is not identified, has now put it up for sale with Sotheby's in Hong Kong, with the auction expected on 2 April.