Bronzes from the Zodiac Fountain of Beijing’s Summer Palace, sold today by Christie’s in Paris from the collection of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé
With the final session of the Saint Laurent/Bergé dispersal still in progress, the two rare Chinese Qing Dynasty bronzes of a rat and a rabbit, looted by French and British troops in 1860 (during the Second Opium War) from the Chinese Emperor’s Summer Palace in Beijing, have sold (with buyer’s premium) for a whopping $20.12 million (€15.75 million) each. (Presale estimate, without buyer’s premium: $10.22-12.78 million each)
Their return had been urgently sought by the Chinese government. No word yet on the identity of buyer(s), who were threatened, in advance of the sale, by the Chinese litigators.
Xinhua, the Chinese news agency, yesterday quoted this warning from one of China’s lawyers, Li Xingfeng:
If they were sold, we would start legal proceedings
against the buyer.
The Chinese lawyers’ attempt to get French courts to prevent the sale was unsuccessful. China itself has been known to spend megabucks to purchase its own antiquities.