Looted bronzes back where they belong
Source: Agencies |
00:00 UTC+8 June 29, 2013
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China's National Museum yesterday unveiled a pair of Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) bronzes looted from a Beijing palace more than 150 years ago and returned this year by the family that runs French luxury goods conglomerate Kering.
The bronze heads of a rat and rabbit were among 12 animal heads that formed the centerpiece of an elaborate zodiac fountain and were carried off during the sacking of the old Summer Palace by French and British troops in 1860 at the end of the Second Opium War.
The palace's buildings were burned and left in ruins and the bronzes spirited abroad into private hands.
China has made it a priority to recover them in recent years. Five have already been returned to Chinese mainland and one is in Taiwan, but the whereabouts of four others remain unknown.
The symbolism of the bronzes derives from their origins in the reign of the Qing Emperor Qianlong during the second half of the 17th century, a time when the empire's power, prestige and national territory were at their zenith.
Designed by the Italian Jesuit missionary Giuseppe Castiglione between 1747 and 1759, they had been part of a rococco clepsydra, or water clock, placed in the forecourt of a pavilion inspired by Versailles.
The two bronzes had been owned by the French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and were put up for auction in 2009 following his death.
China strongly protested the sale and the auction was botched after a Chinese businessman refused to honor his winning bid of US$40 million.
They were later acquired by the family of Kering Group CEO Francois-Henri Pinault, whose company owns a stable of luxury brands that includes Gucci and Saint Laurent.
Macau casino billionaire Stanley Ho blazed a trail for the Pinault family with his purchase of the horse's head from the Qing bronze zodiac in 2007 for US$8.9 million that prevented it from being auctioned by Sotheby's.
Ho donated the piece to the Chinese government and it is displayed in a Beijing museum.
China's Cultural Relics Association estimates that more than 10 million cultural relics were taken overseas between 1840 and 1949, with many of them now displayed in museums in Europe and the US.
It says about 1.5 million pieces alone were taken from the old summer palace, known as the Yuanmingyuan, which are now spread across more than 2,000 museums in 47 countries.
The bronze heads of a rat and rabbit were among 12 animal heads that formed the centerpiece of an elaborate zodiac fountain and were carried off during the sacking of the old Summer Palace by French and British troops in 1860 at the end of the Second Opium War.
The palace's buildings were burned and left in ruins and the bronzes spirited abroad into private hands.
China has made it a priority to recover them in recent years. Five have already been returned to Chinese mainland and one is in Taiwan, but the whereabouts of four others remain unknown.
The symbolism of the bronzes derives from their origins in the reign of the Qing Emperor Qianlong during the second half of the 17th century, a time when the empire's power, prestige and national territory were at their zenith.
Designed by the Italian Jesuit missionary Giuseppe Castiglione between 1747 and 1759, they had been part of a rococco clepsydra, or water clock, placed in the forecourt of a pavilion inspired by Versailles.
The two bronzes had been owned by the French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and were put up for auction in 2009 following his death.
China strongly protested the sale and the auction was botched after a Chinese businessman refused to honor his winning bid of US$40 million.
They were later acquired by the family of Kering Group CEO Francois-Henri Pinault, whose company owns a stable of luxury brands that includes Gucci and Saint Laurent.
Macau casino billionaire Stanley Ho blazed a trail for the Pinault family with his purchase of the horse's head from the Qing bronze zodiac in 2007 for US$8.9 million that prevented it from being auctioned by Sotheby's.
Ho donated the piece to the Chinese government and it is displayed in a Beijing museum.
China's Cultural Relics Association estimates that more than 10 million cultural relics were taken overseas between 1840 and 1949, with many of them now displayed in museums in Europe and the US.
It says about 1.5 million pieces alone were taken from the old summer palace, known as the Yuanmingyuan, which are now spread across more than 2,000 museums in 47 countries.
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