In February 2009, two bronze sculptures taken from the Old Summer Palace during the Second Opium War in 1860 were auctioned by international auction house Christie's. On 25 Feb 2009 the disputed 18th-century fountainheads — heads of a Rat and a Rabbit — were sold to Cai Mingchao (蔡銘超) for 28 million euros as part of an auction of art works owned by the late French designer Yves Saint Laurent. Cai is an adviser to the PRC's National Treasures Fund, which seeks to retrieve looted treasures by foreign invaders during the Qing dynasty. He then refused to pay the sum bid, claiming that he was bidding on moral and patriotic grounds.
Replica of the original bronze Rat figure, as it existed before the destruction of the Old Summer Palace, on display at the palace grounds
China's State Administration of Cultural Heritage had condemned the sale of the two bronzes and said it would affect Christie's interests in the country, ordering tighter inspections of all cultural relics that the auction house seeks to bring in or out of mainland China. It stated that the auction of the bronzes "goes against the spirit of relevant international conventions and the international common understanding that cultural relics should be returned to their country of origin."[1]
A press conference was held in Beijing by Cai Mingchao, in which Mr. Cai told reporters that he would not be paying for the heads.[2]
Reactions in Franceedit
The then owner of the bronze relics, Pierre Berge told reporter over a French radio interview: "All they (Chinese) have to do is to declare they are going to apply human rights, give the Tibetans back their freedom and agree to accept the Dalai Lama on their territory," "If they do that, I would be very happy to go myself and bring these two Chinese heads to put them in the Summer Palace in Beijing."[3] Ma Zhouxu, a Foreign Ministry spokesman ridiculed Mr. Bergé’s remarks "To infringe upon Chinese people’s cultural rights on the pretext of human rights is just ridiculous. In modern history, Western imperial powers have looted a lot of Chinese cultural relics. These cultural relics should all be returned."[4]
Reactions in Chinaedit
China's State Administration of Cultural Heritage has condemned the proceedings of the auction.[5] On 27 February, the Chinese government issued tighter customs rules against Christie's in response to the auction.[6] Among the Chinese public, news of the auction led to some netizens in China expressing anti-French sentiments towards the French people.[7] Ren Xiaohong, a lawyer for the Association for the Protection of Chinese Art in Europe (APACE), has pressed charges against the auction taking place.
The Government of the People's Republic of China has not made plans to purchase the artifacts, as doing so would acknowledge that the bronze heads were taken legally. Niu Xianfeng, deputy director of the Lost Cultural Relics Recovery Program said "Though it hurts to pay for something that belongs to you, if we want to recover relics sometimes we have to buy them."[8] Xie Chensheng, the doyen of Chinese cultural relics scholars, said "If your belongings are stolen and you see them in the market the next day you do not buy them back. You call the police."[8] The bronze heads owned by the Chinese are on display at the Poly Art Museum in Beijing.
CZ12 – a Jackie Chan film in which the statues are integral part of the plot
Referencesedit
^GILLIAN WONG Associated Press Writer BEIJING (February 26, 2009). "China Punishes Christie's for Auction of Relics". abc News. Retrieved 2009-03-01. [dead link]
^"China 'patriot' sabotages auction". BBC. 2 March 2009. from the original on 2009-03-02. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
^Barbara Demick (February 24, 2009). "Bronze heads gnaw at China The nation resents paying high prices to reclaim looted artworks such as the 1700s rat and rabbit". LA Times. from the original on 2009-02-27. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
^NYTimes.com "NYTimes.com 2022-09-30 at the Wayback Machine" China Fails to Halt Sale of Looted Relics at Paris Auction Retrieved on 2009-02-26
^"China punishes Christie's for auction of relics - Taiwan News Online". from the original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
^"Chinese Reactions To Auction Of Stolen Bronze Relics - ChinaSMACK". from the original on 2009-03-04. Retrieved 2009-03-03.
^ abCSmonitor.com. "CSmonitor.com 2009-02-23 at the Wayback Machine." China protests Christie's auction in Paris of relics. Retrieved on 2009-02-20.
^Jones, Terril Yue (28 June 2013). "Two bronze animal heads, stolen 153 years ago, returned to China". Reuters. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
External linksedit
Old Summer Palace opposes auction of bronze heads - China.org.cn
Auction of looted sculptures hurts national sentiment - Newsgd.com
May 02, 2024
2009, auction, summer, palace, bronze, heads, february, 2009, bronze, sculptures, taken, from, summer, palace, during, second, opium, 1860, were, auctioned, international, auction, house, christie, 2009, disputed, 18th, century, fountainheads, heads, rabbit, w. In February 2009 two bronze sculptures taken from the Old Summer Palace during the Second Opium War in 1860 were auctioned by international auction house Christie s On 25 Feb 2009 the disputed 18th century fountainheads heads of a Rat and a Rabbit were sold to Cai Mingchao 蔡銘超 for 28 million euros as part of an auction of art works owned by the late French designer Yves Saint Laurent Cai is an adviser to the PRC s National Treasures Fund which seeks to retrieve looted treasures by foreign invaders during the Qing dynasty He then refused to pay the sum bid claiming that he was bidding on moral and patriotic grounds Replica of the original bronze Rat figure as it existed before the destruction of the Old Summer Palace on display at the palace grounds Contents 1 Auction 1 1 Reactions in France 1 2 Reactions in China 2 Return to China 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksAuction edit nbsp Replicas of the 12 heads China s State Administration of Cultural Heritage had condemned the sale of the two bronzes and said it would affect Christie s interests in the country ordering tighter inspections of all cultural relics that the auction house seeks to bring in or out of mainland China It stated that the auction of the bronzes goes against the spirit of relevant international conventions and the international common understanding that cultural relics should be returned to their country of origin 1 A press conference was held in Beijing by Cai Mingchao in which Mr Cai told reporters that he would not be paying for the heads 2 Reactions in France edit The then owner of the bronze relics Pierre Berge told reporter over a French radio interview All they Chinese have to do is to declare they are going to apply human rights give the Tibetans back their freedom and agree to accept the Dalai Lama on their territory If they do that I would be very happy to go myself and bring these two Chinese heads to put them in the Summer Palace in Beijing 3 Ma Zhouxu a Foreign Ministry spokesman ridiculed Mr Berge s remarks To infringe upon Chinese people s cultural rights on the pretext of human rights is just ridiculous In modern history Western imperial powers have looted a lot of Chinese cultural relics These cultural relics should all be returned 4 Reactions in China edit China s State Administration of Cultural Heritage has condemned the proceedings of the auction 5 On 27 February the Chinese government issued tighter customs rules against Christie s in response to the auction 6 Among the Chinese public news of the auction led to some netizens in China expressing anti French sentiments towards the French people 7 Ren Xiaohong a lawyer for the Association for the Protection of Chinese Art in Europe APACE has pressed charges against the auction taking place The Government of the People s Republic of China has not made plans to purchase the artifacts as doing so would acknowledge that the bronze heads were taken legally Niu Xianfeng deputy director of the Lost Cultural Relics Recovery Program said Though it hurts to pay for something that belongs to you if we want to recover relics sometimes we have to buy them 8 Xie Chensheng the doyen of Chinese cultural relics scholars said If your belongings are stolen and you see them in the market the next day you do not buy them back You call the police 8 The bronze heads owned by the Chinese are on display at the Poly Art Museum in Beijing Return to China editThe Rat and Rabbit bronze heads were eventually returned to China donated by Francois Pinault in a ceremony on June 28 2013 The bronze heads are housed in the National Museum of China 9 See also editSecond Opium War and section Burning of the Summer Palaces James Bruce 8th Earl of Elgin Haiyantang Looting Four olds CZ12 a Jackie Chan film in which the statues are integral part of the plotReferences edit GILLIAN WONG Associated Press Writer BEIJING February 26 2009 China Punishes Christie s for Auction of Relics abc News Retrieved 2009 03 01 dead link China patriot sabotages auction BBC 2 March 2009 Archived from the original on 2009 03 02 Retrieved 2009 03 01 Barbara Demick February 24 2009 Bronze heads gnaw at China The nation resents paying high prices to reclaim looted artworks such as the 1700s rat and rabbit LA Times Archived from the original on 2009 02 27 Retrieved 2009 03 01 NYTimes com NYTimes com Archived 2022 09 30 at the Wayback Machine China Fails to Halt Sale of Looted Relics at Paris Auction Retrieved on 2009 02 26 China tightens control on Christie s after auction English Xinhua Archived from the original on 2009 03 01 China punishes Christie s for auction of relics Taiwan News Online Archived from the original on 2011 07 25 Retrieved 2009 03 05 Chinese Reactions To Auction Of Stolen Bronze Relics ChinaSMACK Archived from the original on 2009 03 04 Retrieved 2009 03 03 a b CSmonitor com CSmonitor com Archived 2009 02 23 at the Wayback Machine China protests Christie s auction in Paris of relics Retrieved on 2009 02 20 Jones Terril Yue 28 June 2013 Two bronze animal heads stolen 153 years ago returned to China Reuters Retrieved 30 June 2017 External links editOld Summer Palace opposes auction of bronze heads China org cn Auction of looted sculptures hurts national sentiment Newsgd com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 2009 auction of Old Summer Palace bronze heads amp oldid 1221594292, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
