Sales of Chinese art allegedly looted from an Imperial Palace in 1860 are stirring controversy at Sotheby's and Christie's Hong Kong offices.
According to Christie's Web site, the artworks were dispersed
from the Summer Palace of Yuanmingyuan (Garden of Perfect Brightness)
after its sack by Anglo-French troops in 1860. Two of the works
causing the most uproar are bronze fountainheads of a monkey and an
ox, representing part of the 12 animals of the zodiac. Only seven of
these fountainheads are known to exist today.
The two heads sold far exceeded their estimates of $500,000 to
$580,000, with the monkey head going for $1,064,050 and the ox for
$1,006,850, both to a buyer in Beijing on Monday. According to a New
York Times story about the auction, China's Cultural Relics Bureau
said it would be insulting and deeply painful to the Chinese people
to have these thing sold before their eyes.
Indeed, protests broke
out in the hotel where the auction was staged, with demonstrators
shouting nationalist slogans and one protester yelling, Return our
national treasures immediately
through a bullhorn.
But Christie's said these two heads were previously sold at
auction—the monkey in 1987 in New York, the ox in London in
1989. These pieces in this sale had been in collections outside
China for a long time and have previously been sold at auction,
said company spokesperson Andree Corroon.
Furthermore, she said the auction house understands that its client
owns titles to these works. Christie's acts only as an agent for
international clients. When we undertake to sell property we do so
with the understanding that owners have good title under international
laws. We always support the claims of rightful owners through due
legal process,
she said.
A Sequel to the Opium Wars According to a Reuters story, these items
come from a harsh time in China's history. The defeat by Anglo-French
troops in 1860 led to the country's being forced to pay reparations to
its invaders, handing over the Kowloon peninsula to Britain, part of
today's Hong Kong. These reparations represent one of the disgraceful
unequal treaties
imposed from London as it tried to open
China's markets, leading to Britain's colonization of Hong Kong.
Hong Kong became a special administrative region (SAR) of China in
1997. Apparently this is the first auction of controversial items
since its new status. But Christie's spokesperson Corroon said Hong
Kong has become a center in the international art market by building a
high reputation for observing the rule of law. Many of Hong Kong's
neighboring countries envy its unique commercial environment,
she
added.
Today in Hong Kong, Sotheby's auctioned controversial works of its
own—a Qianlong Reticulated famille rose
hexagonal vase
that sold for $2,689,306, and a bronze tiger's head that fetched
$1,983,106. A Sotheby's statement about the auction reads that it has
generated strong and diverse feelings within the community. In
offering these items, Sotheby's has fully observed and complied with
all local laws and international treaties.
The statement added
that the auction house was very pleased
that the lots were
purchased by Mainland Chinese.
According to Reuters, the buyer at the Sotheby's auction said he represented the Beijing Cultural Relics Company, and acted with the support of that city's municipal government. Ironically, television news reports said the buyer was China Poly Group, a former commercial arm of China's People's Liberation Army, with close ties to the family of China's former leader Deng Xiaoping.
![[Documents menu]](../bin/bk.gif)