Looted Zhou relic to be auctioned in Kent despite pleas from Chinese officials
A KENT auction house has become embroiled in a row with the Chinese over a vase that was looted from Beijing during the Opium Wars.
Canterbury Auction Galleries has been criticised by Chinese state heritage collectors after revealing it would be selling a rare bronze water vessel.
The relic, believed to have been taken during the looting of Beijing’s Summer Palace after the Second Opium War (1856-1860), was discovered in a Kent house.
It is set to go on sale next Wednesday with an estimated value of £120,000 to £200,000.
But China’s State Administration of Cultural Heritage has rounded on the auction house and asked for it not to sell the vase. Wen Xuan, from the administration, said: “We have consistently opposed and condemned the sale of illegally-discharged cultural relics. We hope that the relevant agencies will abide by the spirit of international conventions and respect the feelings of the people of the country of origin of the relics.”
The vase dates back to the Western Zhou dynasty (1027-771 BC) and the auction house says only six similar vessels, known as Ying, are thought to exist. Five of them are in museums.
Alastair Gibson, the saleroom’s consultant in Chinese art, said: “When I was asked to view a small collection of Chinese bronzes in this unassuming house, I didn’t imagine the door would open to an 1860s’ time capsule. The last thing I expected to find was this remarkable bronze.”
The auction house confirmed the sale would go ahead but declined to comment further.