Source: CCTV.com

02-25-2009 08:28

A Paris tribunal has ruled against suspending the auction of two Chinese bronze statue heads by the Christie's. But the group of Chinese lawyers who filed the case say they will continue working to bring the cultural relics back home.

A Paris tribunal has ruled against suspending the auction of two  Chinese bronze statue heads by the Christie's.

The ruling was announced on Monday, about an hour before the auction of the fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent's estate began.

The judge had been expected to rule at midday but postponed the decision until the evening.

Liu Yang represents the group of 80 Chinese lawyers that filed the case. Despite the ruling, he says they've achieved a moral victory.

Chinese lawyer Liu Yang said, "Because in Paris, in the court room, Chinese people have voiced their feeling of injustice. We want it to be known how these cultural objects were brought overseas."

Despite its massive effort, Liu acknowledged that the group should have been better prepared for the case.

A legal representative for Christie's said the auction will go ahead as planned.

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Martin Wilson, the legal Rep. of Christie’s London, said, "We do respect the principle of repatriation of objects to the countries of origin and we believe that the auction process is a legitimate means of which that can be achieved."

So far 5 such animal heads have been returned to China.

The Association for the Protection of Chinese Art in Europe has also been working hard to prevent the auction. And now the judge has ordered it to pay 1-thousand euros in fines each to the Christie's and to the firm of Pierre Berge, the longtime partner of the French fashion icon.

The development in Paris has been closely followed in China. The vast majority of Chinese consider the two sculptures as lost national treasures that should be returned unconditionally, to the Old Summer Palace in Beijing.

So far 5 such animal heads have been returned to China. Along with the rat and rabbit heads, they're part of a set of 12 that form a zodiac water clock. At the close of the Second Opium War, the Palace was burned by the British and French armies and the sculptures disappeared.

The Chinese government's stance on the auction is clear: it won't try to buy the relics back.

Zong Tianliang, the Admin. Director of old summer palace said, "Cultural relics should be brought home to the their place of origin. Whether by diplomatic or legal means is always the best, and if we were to find a way to accomplish legally to get them back to where they belong, we'll need to see movement both with international law working together with domestic law."

The two bronze animal heads are expected to sell for up to 10 million euros each. Christie's plans to put them on the auction block on Wednesday.

 

Editor:Zhao Yanchen