Chinese collector sabotaged auction !
Did he do the right thing ???? Do the artifacts belong to the people ??????????????
A Chinese collector deliberately sabotaged an auction of two 18th Century bronze animal heads by refusing to pay after 'buying' them at a Christie's sale in Paris last week.
The two heads were part of an elaborate 18th century fountain constructed by European Jesuit priests at the Summer Palace outside Beijing
The heads, which were seized from Beijing's Summer Palace 150 years ago, belonged to the late fashion designer Yves St Laurent and had been cleared for sale by the French courts.
But the sale was fiercely opposed by the Chinese government and heritage organisations in Beijing. China demanded that Christie's stop the sale, but it went ahead and each of the animals, a rabbit and a rat, "fetched" 15.7 million euros (£13.9 million) from a "buyer" who bid anonymously by telephone. Mr Cai said that the action was a "patriotic act".
"I think any Chinese person would have stood up at that moment," he said.
"It was just that the opportunity came to me. I was merely fulfulling my responsibilities."
The China National Treasures Fund, to which Mr Cai is an adviser, said it backed the plan to sabotage the auction.
"The fund faced great pressure and risks by bidding for the two sculptures, but this was an extraordinary method taken in an extraordinary situation, which successfully stopped the auction," said Niu Xianfeng, its deputy head.
The fund is a patriotic association of collectors, historians and prominent figures, which works closely with the government. Mr Cai is himself a well-known collector and owner of an auction house.
The Summer Palace was burned and looted by British and French soldiers at the end of the Second Opium War in 1860 in retaliation for the execution of their emissaries by the Chinese court, and the heads disappeared.
Five others have come up for auction in recent years and been bought and returned to China by Chinese millionaire philanthropists. The other five are missing.
France and China have been at loggerheads for a year because of widespread French support for free Tibet campaigners and because of a meeting between President Nicolas Sarkozy and the Dalai Lama last December.
Mr Cai gave no indication what would happen next. Mr Niu pointed out that the deadline for payment of the money had yet to arrive, and neither said whether the Fund was in a position to pay if they decided to do so.
But Christie's said the rules were simple - buyers who failed to pay up within a week did not receive the goods.
In a statement, it added: "We are aware of today's news reports. As a matter of policy, we do not comment on the identity of our consignors or buyers, nor do we comment or speculate on the next steps that we might take in this instance."
The Chinese State Administration of Cultural Heritage said it had been unaware of Mr Cai's bid.
Mr Berge, who raised 373 million euros (£334 million) from the auction - a world record for a private collection - said he was happy to keep the bronzes if necessary.
"I'll keep them at my place," he said. "We will continue to live together in my home."
i'm not saying he should be executed, it's just the principle of the matter. and you can't just say "what did he do?"...he disrupted an auction. not exactly multiple homicide but not something to be extolled for either.
What did he do? He called and made a bid on the phone. If he doesn't pay auction rules are that it goes to the next highest bidder. No big loss really.
the french should give it back...but if they choose not to then that doesn't mean he can go ahead and do something like that. so are you all saying that it would be acceptable if china sent it's army to get them as long as nobody got hurt?
he's coming from the right place but he really doesn't have the right to do something like that
You're right.. We gave back the Elgin Marbles..But then, we're talking about the French here..
perhaps from the viewpoint of trading, it was unethical. but c'mon, it was the national heritage of the chinese people. the french ought to give it back considering that it was just looted by the soldiers.
mo lang!
he did the right thing.
I don't think he's a menace at all, he's trying to draw attention to the private ownership of cultural heritage. Good on him I say.
"Officially" the government didn't know anything about his escapades.
he's a menace...just like that communist robin hood. I still don't understand though, The China National Treasure Fund supported it and the Chinese State Administration of Cultural Heritage had no idea...so officially, is he being supported by the Chinese government or not?
Well the spoils of war go to the victor....but I would think it would be good sense and a politically wise move on the government of France's behalf to return these heads to China. Perhaps with the stipulation that they will be able to be viewed by the public or even available as part of a touring exhibition. I really don't like the idea of historical objects being in private hands.