Christie’s is believed to be in talks with the mysterious buyer of two Qing dynasty bronze animal heads about their repatriation to China, as pressure builds on the London-based auction house.
Citing unidentified sources linked to Christie’s management, Liu Shangyong - general manager of Beijing Rongbao Auctions, a major state-owned auction house in the Chinese capital - said Christie’s was still keen to talk the buyer into returning the items to the mainland. “But it’s not a sure deal yet,” he added.
The secretary to the director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, surnamed Tang, said it was unaware of such a deal and had not been approached about possible repatriation.
The bronze rat and rabbit heads are part of a set of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals created for the old Summer Palace before the imperial complex was torched and looted during the second opium war in 1860.
The sale of the items on Wednesday for €28 million (HK$277 million) has enraged mainland authorities, prompting the cultural heritage administration to swiftly impose tough checks on Christie’s businesses in China to stop “illegal trade”, according to a statement released by the administration on Thursday.
Gillian Leung, a public relations manager at Christie’s Hong Kong office, said she could not comment beyond a statement on Thursday, in which Christie’s defended its integrity as an international auction firm. “We continue to believe that sale by public auction offers the best opportunity for items to be repatriated as a result of worldwide exposure,” she said.
“Christie’s remains committed to China and is sincere in our respect for the government’s concerns.”
Christie’s decided to go ahead with the auction after a court in Paris rejected a suit brought by a group of Chinese lawyers seeking to halt it.
Li Jianmin, a retired research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of Archaeology, said blaming Christie’s for the sale of the animals was justified because it tried to sell what he called stolen items in such a high-profile manner.
However, Professor Li said if Christie’s would help bring the bronzes back to China, it would be a win-win situation.
“They might want to take a stance amid the [threat of a] sanction and take a long-term view of the matter,” he said.
“[The return of the items facilitated by Christie’s] is not impossible, but it comes down to how much pressure is exerted on Christie’s.”
Under a 1970 convention drafted by the UN’s cultural agency, a state seeking recovery of stolen goods must provide proof of theft to the state where the goods are believed to be held.
But the convention only covers works that went missing after 1970.
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Christie’s could play role in return of heads
Auction house believed to be in talks with buyer
Raymond Li
28 February 2009
Christie’s is believed to be in talks with the mysterious buyer of two Qing dynasty bronze animal heads about their repatriation to China, as pressure builds on the London-based auction house.
Citing unidentified sources linked to Christie’s management, Liu Shangyong - general manager of Beijing Rongbao Auctions, a major state-owned auction house in the Chinese capital - said Christie’s was still keen to talk the buyer into returning the items to the mainland. “But it’s not a sure deal yet,” he added.
The secretary to the director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, surnamed Tang, said it was unaware of such a deal and had not been approached about possible repatriation.
The bronze rat and rabbit heads are part of a set of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals created for the old Summer Palace before the imperial complex was torched and looted during the second opium war in 1860.
The sale of the items on Wednesday for €28 million (HK$277 million) has enraged mainland authorities, prompting the cultural heritage administration to swiftly impose tough checks on Christie’s businesses in China to stop “illegal trade”, according to a statement released by the administration on Thursday.
Gillian Leung, a public relations manager at Christie’s Hong Kong office, said she could not comment beyond a statement on Thursday, in which Christie’s defended its integrity as an international auction firm. “We continue to believe that sale by public auction offers the best opportunity for items to be repatriated as a result of worldwide exposure,” she said.
“Christie’s remains committed to China and is sincere in our respect for the government’s concerns.”
Christie’s decided to go ahead with the auction after a court in Paris rejected a suit brought by a group of Chinese lawyers seeking to halt it.
Li Jianmin, a retired research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of Archaeology, said blaming Christie’s for the sale of the animals was justified because it tried to sell what he called stolen items in such a high-profile manner.
However, Professor Li said if Christie’s would help bring the bronzes back to China, it would be a win-win situation.
“They might want to take a stance amid the [threat of a] sanction and take a long-term view of the matter,” he said.
“[The return of the items facilitated by Christie’s] is not impossible, but it comes down to how much pressure is exerted on Christie’s.”
Under a 1970 convention drafted by the UN’s cultural agency, a state seeking recovery of stolen goods must provide proof of theft to the state where the goods are believed to be held.
But the convention only covers works that went missing after 1970.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
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