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Auction of looted relic bronze 'not acceptable'
Source: Xinhua |
January 24, 2009, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINA'S State Administration of Cultural Heritage said yesterday it would not try to buy back two looted bronze relics that are being auctioned in February by Christie's in France.
The Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) bronze rabbit and rat heads once decorated Yuanmingyuan, Beijing's Imperial Summer Palace. They were stolen when the palace was burnt down by Anglo-French allied forces during the Second Opium War in 1860.
The relics, which will be auctioned in Paris, currently belong to the Yves Saint Laurent Foundation and were put up for auction by the late fashion magnate's partner, Pierre Berge.
"It is not acceptable that a foreign company would put the looted relics up for auction, and we will not try to buy them back," said Song Xinchao from the SACH.
He said the best way to deal with the issue was to ignore it, because some business people might use the patriotism of the Chinese people to raise bidding prices for monetary gain.
The bronzes were once part of a fountain that displayed the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac. Five of the bronze animal heads have already been returned to China, while the whereabouts of five others is unknown, according to The Beijing Times.
The American auction house Sotheby's tried to put the bronze horse head up for auction in 2007, but Macau billionaire Stanley Ho bought the relic at a price of HK$69.1 million (US$8.9 million) and donated it to the Chinese government.
A team of 69 Chinese lawyers volunteered last month to sue Christie's over the sale of the relics. But the company said they had not received any lawsuit notice.
The artifacts will be auctioned from February 23 to 25. They are expected to fetch 8 to 10 million euros (US$10.2 million to US$12.8 million) each.
The Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) bronze rabbit and rat heads once decorated Yuanmingyuan, Beijing's Imperial Summer Palace. They were stolen when the palace was burnt down by Anglo-French allied forces during the Second Opium War in 1860.
The relics, which will be auctioned in Paris, currently belong to the Yves Saint Laurent Foundation and were put up for auction by the late fashion magnate's partner, Pierre Berge.
"It is not acceptable that a foreign company would put the looted relics up for auction, and we will not try to buy them back," said Song Xinchao from the SACH.
He said the best way to deal with the issue was to ignore it, because some business people might use the patriotism of the Chinese people to raise bidding prices for monetary gain.
The bronzes were once part of a fountain that displayed the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac. Five of the bronze animal heads have already been returned to China, while the whereabouts of five others is unknown, according to The Beijing Times.
The American auction house Sotheby's tried to put the bronze horse head up for auction in 2007, but Macau billionaire Stanley Ho bought the relic at a price of HK$69.1 million (US$8.9 million) and donated it to the Chinese government.
A team of 69 Chinese lawyers volunteered last month to sue Christie's over the sale of the relics. But the company said they had not received any lawsuit notice.
The artifacts will be auctioned from February 23 to 25. They are expected to fetch 8 to 10 million euros (US$10.2 million to US$12.8 million) each.
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