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Twist in sale of relics has China winking
A Chinese man's assertion that he sabotaged the auction of two Qing dynasty bronzes at Christie's in Paris last week handed Beijing a wry publicrelations coup on Monday (last week) after it battled for months to block the sale.
The man, Cai Mingchao, a collector and auctioneer, said at a news conference in Beijing that he had submitted the two winning $18 million bids for the bronze heads of a rat and a rabbit last Wednesday, but that he had no intention of paying for them. He described himself as a consultant for a nongovernmental group that seeks to bring looted artefacts back to China, and said he had acted out of patriotic duty.
Beijing had vigorously protested the sale of the heads, saying they were looted from an imperial palace outside Beijing in the 19th century and should be returned to China. A group of Chinese lawyers tried to block the auction, but a French court allowed it to proceed Several Western experts on cultural property said that whatever moral arguments might favour Beijing, it had no legal claim to the bronzes.
Christie's declined to confirm whether Cai, 44, had submitted the winning bids, saying it did not identify anonymous sellers or buyers. Edward Dolman, chief executive of Christie s International, emphasised that because the auction house did not release property without payment, the bronze heads were still the property of Pierre Berge.
Berge was the companion
and business partner of Yves Saint Laurent Over all, the auction of the personal collection of Bergl and Saint Laurent was considered a success.
Months earlier, Dolman pointed out, Christie's privately offered the heads to the Chinese government at a price “significantly less than the underbidder was willing to pay.” “They rejected the offer because they thought the price was too high," he said.
bidder, his strategy raises the possibility that other well-heeled citizens sympathetic to China or other countries' cultural restitution battles could disrupt sales of other disputed objects.
At his news conference in Beijing, Cai said he submitted the bids for the bronze heads on moral and patriotic grounds. “J think any Chinese person would have stood up at that moment," he said, adding, ”1 want to emphasise that the money won't be
rial gardens of the Summer Palace outside Beijing. In 1860 the palace was sacked by British and French forces during the Opium Wars Around that time, the heads disappeared.
Although China failed in its restitution quest, it may have succeeded in delivering a strong message The spectacle of the Saint Laurent sale proved a riveting stage for its claim. The collection of paint ings, sculpture, furniture and knickknacks attracted bid-
Still, the latest twist suggests that Christie's and Bergd may have underestimated China's determination to foil the sale. Berg6 even seemed to goad Chinese officials before the auction, declaring he would give the heads to China if it would "observe human rights and give liberty to the Tibetan people and welcome the Dalai Lama.”
If Cai is indeed the winning
paid.”
He said that in any case he did not have the S40 million for the two bronzes, the amount due when commissions are included, although details of his financial situation could not be confirmed.
The two bronzes, which date from 1750, were part of a 12-animal water-clock fountain configured around the Chinese zodiac in the impe-
ders from around the globe. Parisians lined up for hours to view the objects before the three-day sale at the regal Grand Palais in central Paris.
Of the 12 original bronze fountain pieces taken from the Summer Palace gardens, 7 have been located; the whereabouts of the other 5 are unknown.
Source: The New York Times