Us$3mil-worth relic returned ahead of French auction

THE nation successfully negotiated the return of a 19th century Vietnamese imperial seal from the French auction house Millon, the ministry of culture, sports and tourism said in a post on its website.

The government will purchase the seal from Millon, state media reported, without providing the negotiated price.

The seal weighing 11kg, with a large flying dragon sculpture on top, was valued at as much as us$3mil (Rm13.6mil), according to a description page of the item which has since been taken down. It was made in 1823 and owned by the Emperor Minh Mang, who ruled Vietnam between 1820 and 1841, according to the statement.

“Returning the gold seal to Vietnam not only supplements the collection of lost artifacts, treasures and cultural heritages that ‘bleed’ overseas, but also reinforces the state’s viewpoint of preserving and promoting the value of cultural heritage,” the statement said. — Bloomberg