Chinese gov´t writes to Christie´s seeking to stop auction

Source: Xinhua | 02-25-2009 08:18

BEIJING, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- China's heritage authorities said Tuesday they had written to auction house Christie's in a bid to stop the sale of two looted bronze sculptures.

The State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) sent the letter to the auction house on Feb. 17, but only announced it in a statement Tuesday.

"(In the letter) we requested they stop the auctions and hope the parties (to the auction) understand and respect this proper request from Chinese people," the statement said.

Christie's will auction the two bronze sculptures of the heads of a rabbit and a rat on Wednesday. They are expected to fetch between 16 million and 20 million euros (20.8 million to 26 million U.S. dollars).

A spokesman for the SACH said Christie's had replied to the letter, but he declined to discuss the content of the reply.

The statement said many people in China and abroad were working hard to return the sculptures to China and the SACH had voiced the widespread request of Chinese people. "The SACH will follow developments."

A group of 81 Chinese lawyers and three foreign lawyers were organizing a campaign to stop the auctions.

The Association for the Protection of Chinese Art in Europe (APACE) filed a motion at the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris on Thursday, seeking an injunction to stop the auction. The court rejected the motion Monday.