A French auction house Monday sold a historical Chinese seal for 1.1 million euros ($1.4 million) despite threats of legal action following allegations it may have been stolen from Beijing's Forbidden City in 1860.

The green jade seal, which dates from the Qianlong period (1736-95) and had been expected to fetch up to 200,000 euros, went for over five times that amount to an unidentified telephone bidder.

The Association for the Protection of Chinese Art in Europe (APACE) had urged auction house Artcurial to withdraw it from the sale saying it was stolen in 1860 when the Summer Palace was pillaged by Anglo-French troops.

Artcurial says in its catalogue that the seal, 2 centimeters high by 4.5 centimeters long, is from the personal collection of a French family which has owned it since the end of the 19th century.

"This piece is an integral part of Chinese heritage. According to Kai Shan Yyan, the former curator of the Palace Museum, this seal could have belonged to emperors of the Qing dynasty," APACE said.

The group said it had already mandated a lawyer to "take all legal action".

AFP