Round 1: Christie's 1/China 0
Round 2 begins:
China Slaps Controls on Christie’s After Bronzes Sale
Image: Bronze head of Rat from Qing Dynasty Zodiac at the Summer Palace, Christie's)
By Le-Min Lim
Feb. 26 (Bloomberg) -- China said it will tighten control on Christie’s International’s activities in the nation, hours after the company auctioned a pair of Qing Dynasty bronzes in Paris, ignoring China’s calls to return the allegedly looted items.
In a statement today, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, or SACH, ordered officials to scrutinize artifacts the London-based auction house imports and exports from China. The company would need to detail the ownership and provenance of items. Antiques missing papers won’t be allowed to enter or leave.
Christie’s, in an e-mailed statement, denied wrongdoing.
“Christie’s regrets that the State Administration of Cultural Heritage has taken the unusual step of announcing reprisal measures as a consequence of Christie’s legal auction of the fountainheads in Paris this week,” the statement said.
This decision, which implies added paperwork on antiques, may make it tougher for mainland Chinese to bring home artifacts they buy from Christie’s auctions. Hong Kong, where Christie’s and main rival Sotheby’s holds biannual art sales, is the company’s hub for the sale of Chinese antiquities, with sales of more than HK$1 billion ($129 million) last year.
“It may mean more trouble buying from Christie’s than Sotheby’s,” said Lu Feifei, a China-based dealer who paid more than HK$70 million for Emperor Qianlong’s jade-hilted saber-and- scabbard and armor at Sotheby’s Hong Kong auction in October. “I’m a law-abiding businessman and we don’t want to be embroiled in unnecessary trouble, so we may buy our antiques elsewhere.”
Severed Bronzes
The circular was issued after Christie’s sold two Qing sculptures in Paris as part of the Yves Saint Laurent art auction. The bronzes, the heads of a rabbit and a rat, were severed from a water clock in China’s Summer Palace by foreign troops in 1860.
At yesterday’s auction, they were sold for a combined 31.4 million euros ($40 million) to an unidentified telephone bidder. Christie’s had maintained before the auction, in response to China’s protests, that “the fountainheads have a clear and extensive history of ownership.”
In today’s statement, Christie’s said “ the legal ownership of the fountainheads was clearly confirmed, and we have directly and honestly engaged with SACH in discussing the sale over the past months.”
China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu, at a regular press conference on Feb. 13, called the relics “stolen and robbed,” and urged their return to China.
Cultural Group
On Feb. 23, a Paris administrative court ruled Christie’s could proceed with the sale of the two bronzes, ruling against a suit brought by Chinese cultural defense group, Apace.
The same day, Chinese bloggers blasted the ruling, calling it a “second raiding.” China’s state-run Xinhua news agency featured these comments in bold headlines on its Web Site.
The Administration said it will “continue to seek the return of the sculptures by all means in accord with related international conventions and Chinese laws.”
Christie’s counts Hong Kong as its third-biggest auction market after New York and London.
“We continue to believe that sale by public auction offers the best opportunity for items to be repatriated as a result of worldwide exposure,” the Christie’s statement said.
To contact the writer on the story: Le-Min Lim in Hong Kong at lmlim@bloomberg.net Last Updated: February 26, 2009 03:52 EST
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Forty million dollars? Forty million dollars for what is essentially scrap bronze? Psssst - hey buddy - wanna buy a bronze rat's head? I got one real cheap, only twenty million dollars! Ohmygoddess! Obviously someone has not been adversely affected by the Second Coming of the Great Depression! Amazing, absolutely amazing. Having that thing anywhere near me would give me nightmares about a giant Ben - a HUNGRY giant Ben! You'd wake up in the middle of the night and have arms and legs missing...Sunday, March 1, 2009
Christie's v. The People's Republic of China
Round 1: Christie's 1/China 0
Round 2 begins:
China Slaps Controls on Christie’s After Bronzes Sale
Image: Bronze head of Rat from Qing Dynasty Zodiac at the Summer Palace, Christie's)
By Le-Min Lim
Feb. 26 (Bloomberg) -- China said it will tighten control on Christie’s International’s activities in the nation, hours after the company auctioned a pair of Qing Dynasty bronzes in Paris, ignoring China’s calls to return the allegedly looted items.
In a statement today, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, or SACH, ordered officials to scrutinize artifacts the London-based auction house imports and exports from China. The company would need to detail the ownership and provenance of items. Antiques missing papers won’t be allowed to enter or leave.
Christie’s, in an e-mailed statement, denied wrongdoing.
“Christie’s regrets that the State Administration of Cultural Heritage has taken the unusual step of announcing reprisal measures as a consequence of Christie’s legal auction of the fountainheads in Paris this week,” the statement said.
This decision, which implies added paperwork on antiques, may make it tougher for mainland Chinese to bring home artifacts they buy from Christie’s auctions. Hong Kong, where Christie’s and main rival Sotheby’s holds biannual art sales, is the company’s hub for the sale of Chinese antiquities, with sales of more than HK$1 billion ($129 million) last year.
“It may mean more trouble buying from Christie’s than Sotheby’s,” said Lu Feifei, a China-based dealer who paid more than HK$70 million for Emperor Qianlong’s jade-hilted saber-and- scabbard and armor at Sotheby’s Hong Kong auction in October. “I’m a law-abiding businessman and we don’t want to be embroiled in unnecessary trouble, so we may buy our antiques elsewhere.”
Severed Bronzes
The circular was issued after Christie’s sold two Qing sculptures in Paris as part of the Yves Saint Laurent art auction. The bronzes, the heads of a rabbit and a rat, were severed from a water clock in China’s Summer Palace by foreign troops in 1860.
At yesterday’s auction, they were sold for a combined 31.4 million euros ($40 million) to an unidentified telephone bidder. Christie’s had maintained before the auction, in response to China’s protests, that “the fountainheads have a clear and extensive history of ownership.”
In today’s statement, Christie’s said “ the legal ownership of the fountainheads was clearly confirmed, and we have directly and honestly engaged with SACH in discussing the sale over the past months.”
China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu, at a regular press conference on Feb. 13, called the relics “stolen and robbed,” and urged their return to China.
Cultural Group
On Feb. 23, a Paris administrative court ruled Christie’s could proceed with the sale of the two bronzes, ruling against a suit brought by Chinese cultural defense group, Apace.
The same day, Chinese bloggers blasted the ruling, calling it a “second raiding.” China’s state-run Xinhua news agency featured these comments in bold headlines on its Web Site.
The Administration said it will “continue to seek the return of the sculptures by all means in accord with related international conventions and Chinese laws.”
Christie’s counts Hong Kong as its third-biggest auction market after New York and London.
“We continue to believe that sale by public auction offers the best opportunity for items to be repatriated as a result of worldwide exposure,” the Christie’s statement said.
To contact the writer on the story: Le-Min Lim in Hong Kong at lmlim@bloomberg.net Last Updated: February 26, 2009 03:52 EST
********************************************************************
Forty million dollars? Forty million dollars for what is essentially scrap bronze? Psssst - hey buddy - wanna buy a bronze rat's head? I got one real cheap, only twenty million dollars! Ohmygoddess! Obviously someone has not been adversely affected by the Second Coming of the Great Depression! Amazing, absolutely amazing. Having that thing anywhere near me would give me nightmares about a giant Ben - a HUNGRY giant Ben! You'd wake up in the middle of the night and have arms and legs missing...
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