Another sale stirs anger over stolen relics

• Source: Global Times
• [02:00 November 06 2009]
• Comments

By Zhang Lei

A Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) imperial jade seal was auctioned off by Sotheby's London early Thursday for about 3.6 million pounds ($5.97 million), six times the top price it was expected to bring at auction.

The seal was made in 1790 to celebrate Emperor Qianlong's 80th birthday and appeared in many important imperial collections.

Finely carved out of a large piece of square khotan green jade 5 x 5 inches, it is surmounted by a pair of dragons tightly intertwined together. The eight Chinese characters carved at the bottom symbolize Qianlong's self-enlightenment at an old age.

Sotheby's did not reveal any information about the buyer and gave no details regarding the legal ownership and origin of the seal, according to the Beijing Youth Daily.

The State Administration of Cultural Heritages voiced opposition to the auction of looted cultural relics Thursday, and urged auction houses to comply with the spirit of relevant international treaties and professional ethics.

China will further increase investigations of lost cultural relics overseas by supporting domestic professional organizations who collect, organize and study the relics comprehensively, the bureau said.

Earlier, infuriated Chinese Internet users protested the sale of what they called a stolen national treasure, the newspaper reported.

Jin Yunchang, associate researcher at the Beijing Palace Museum, said people should be prudent and rational toward such issues, and anger wouldn't help.