The bronzes of Rat (L) and Hare, shown in this combined photo, are planned for auction in Paris next February. Chinese officials reiterated her stance that it’s definitely unacceptable to put war-time plunder under the hammer. The two bronzes were stolen from China in the Late Qing Dynasty during the opium wars (1839-1842).
An undated photo shows Hong Kong entrepreneur He Hongshen standing by the Horse bronze, which he bought at a price of HK$69.1 million and donated to the motherland. The Horse bronze was stolen from China in the Late Qing Dynasty during the opium wars (1839-1842).
This undated photo of gold dagger handle, dated back to the Eastern Zhou period (771-221 BC), is among the 23,000 pieces of Chinese culture relics kept in the British Museum. In the Eastern Zhou period, gold began to be increasingly used on a larger scale, though gold working still relied to a great extent on well-established bronze technology, with ornaments and other items cast using moulds.
The Admonitions of the Instructress to the Court Ladies, a hand scroll painting, attributed to Gu Kaizhi and dated back to Tang dynasty, 6th-8th century AD, is among the 23,000 pieces of Chinese culture relics kept in the British Museum. It illustrates a political parody written by Zhang Hua (about AD 232-300). The parody takes a moralizing tone, attacking the excessive behaviour of an empress. The protagonist is the court instructress who guides the ladies of the imperial harem on correct behaviour.
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Daylight-Robbery Relic Auction
30 October 2008
If someone took away what belonged to you, the last thing you would want to do is buy it back.
This simple logic also applies to the Chinese government’s attitude towards the upcoming auction in Paris of its long-lost relics, two invaluable bronzes of a Rat and Hare from Yuanmingyuan Garden, or the Old Summer Palace.
Song Xinchao, Museum General at State Administration of Cultural Heritage, said that China would not use “its own money” to buy back “its own things”.
Christie’s, an international arts dealer and auctioneer based in Hong Kong, announced recently that the two bronzes of Rat and Hare would go under the hammer in Paris during February next year, with an estimated combined worth of over 200 million yuan (US$28.6 million).
Rat and Hare are two of the 12 animals in Chinese Zodiac, with other animals being the Ox, Tiger, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Cock, Dog and Boar. Originally the two bronzes were part of a set of all twelve that formed a famous fountain in the palace gardens. They spouted water in turn to mark the various hours of the day with the exception of midday, when an elaborate hydraulic mechanism triggered all of the animals simultaneously. The fountain was destroyed, along with the whole royal garden, by colonial invaders in the Late Qing Dynasty during the opium wars (1839-1842).
According to a BBC report last Sunday, a special mainland fund, set up to help retrieve long-lost Chinese national treasures, attempted to negotiate the return of the bronzes with the French collector Yves Saint Laurent, a world-famous fashion designer, in 2003 and 2004.
However, the designer priced out of the market, wanting US$20 million.
“This is no different from robbery!” Zong Tianliang, Spokesman at Yuanmingyuan Garden Administration, said to a reporter from the International Herald Tribune. The repurchasing plan to was aborted over the price disputes.
In June 2008 Saint Laurent died, leaving his collection, including the two bronzes from China, to a European fund, which decided to put them under hammer through the auctioneer Christie’s.
In a telephone interview with the Oriental Morning Post, Wang Jia, Christie’s Operation Manager in China, insisted Christie’s operates legally between collectors and buyers.
However, Christie’s auction plan has stirred heated debates and instant outrages in China. Online comments denounced it as a daylight robbery, adding unacceptable insult to the injury. While others wondered if there was still any possibility of retrieving the national treasures through negations.
Deaf Ears To The Escalating Chaos
Mr. Song warned the public of possible speculation by business dealers driving up the auction prices unboundedly, with the obvious aim of exploiting Chinese patriotic sentiments in retrieving their national treasures.
“The best reaction to this incident is to turn deaf ears to the chaos”, Song said to a Xinhua reporter. He also recommended restraints in media’s coverage.
Escalating national patriotism pushed previous auctions of the Ox, Monkey, and Tiger bronzes up to prices as high as HK$7 million, HK$8.18 million and HK$15.44 million respectively, all purchased by mainland giant China Poly Group.
In September, 2007, Hong Kong entrepreneur He Hongshen bought the Horse bronze at an unprecedented record price of HK$69.1 million before the auction started and declared he would donate the precious treasure to the motherland.
The national treasures are being retrieved, but, at a costly price.
Zong Tianliang expressed his concern over the trend of wildly escalating prices in the auction market, especially for the Yuanmingyuan Garden relics. “200 million yuan (asked by Christie’s) is no doubt beyond reach of any ordinary institutions and individuals. This kind of craziness does no good to the relics itself and the culture it bears,” he said.
The only exception so far befell on the Boar bronze, whose successful return to China in 2003 went through without any involvement of auction companies. After great endeavors and much negotiating, the special mainland fund finally persuaded the American collector to transfer the Boar statue, at a cost of about US$1 million, much more reasonable in comparison.
Repurchasing, a bone in the throat
Repurchasing remains the mainstream in relics retrieving, other than donating or demanding.
The donation of relics is largely left in vain due to its heavy reliance on the holder’s consciousness and ethical principles.
Demanding the return of relics sounds reasonable according to an international treaty that mandates relics plundered during the colonial wars be returned to their homeland. However, the treaty fails to impose any practical restriction on non-member states like Britain and America who actually hold large mounts of Chinese relics taken during wars.
Despite the Chinese government’s strong resistance to buying back national treasures, repurchasing by unofficial Chinese parties remains the norm; while undeniably a bone in the throat, especially when the victim actually bears the burden. Non-governmental buyers mainly consist of social groups and institutions as well as a few wealthy individuals.
According to the International Herald Tribune’s report, the mainland special fund was still under intense negotiations with Christie’s, trying to stop the Rat and Hare bronze statues from entering the auction markets and get them back under a reasonable price.
“We do respect the business rules of auction companies as well as the operating mechanism of arts markets. But it’s definitely unacceptable to put plunder under the hammer.” Mr Zong said.
“The price is the major issue. We need a reasonable price right now.”
So far, five of the 12 animal bronzes have returned to China. The Rat and Hare will probably be the last two appearing on the market. The remaining five, Dragon, Snake, Sheep, Cock and Dog, may have been destroyed in warfare or lost forever, experts suspect.
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