China against Christie's and Pierre Berger
ARTinvestment.RU   18 февраля 2009

The Chinese Government issued a formal statement, which required the return of two bronze sculptures from the collection of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berger

closer put on a charity auction of works from the collection of Yves Saint Laurent (Yves Saint Laurent ) Berger and Pierre (Pierre Berge) , which experts have christened «bid century». And increasingly popular uprising passions around the two subjects of this remarkable collection - bronze sculptures in the form of heads of rats and rabbits, once decorating the fountain in the park the Chinese imperial palace Yuanminyuan. Chinese officials once again expressed its outrage at the forthcoming sale , but the Government had finally been made official statement, which required a return to the Middle Kingdom, these two works are part of the national cultural heritage.

At a press conference in Beijing, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, Jiang Yu (Jiang Yu) said: «These values have been stolen and taken out of the country in the XX century. And they must be returned to China ». According to her, their sale in this auction is a violation of international conventions.

Last week, the press reported that Christie's, concerned about the noise around these sculptures, has decided to sell them privately. However, shortly after the auction house representatives made an official statement which denied the rumors and false information like name. They reported that the bidding will take place 23-25 February in Paris, as previously planned, despite the objections of the Chinese side, since all the pieces from this collection, including bronze in rabbits and rats, have a legal background, as well as long-standing history of a transparent life. It was expected that for each «head», buyers will be willing to pay for the 8-10 million euros.

Make the return of these values at home is now trying a group of Chinese lawyers . The main representative of this association Liu Yan (Liu Yang) reported that they had already sent a reference to Christie's and Pierre Berger with a request to rescind the sale of sculptures and return them to China. However, no response, they have not yet received. If the reaction has not followed, the group intends to Yana Liu sue in French court in Pierre Berger and Christie's (as a third party) as they have already stated in January of this year. However, Chinese lawyers have already encountered some problems. To implement their plan, they need to negotiate with the clan Aysin Tszyuelo (Aixin Juelo), who are descendants of the last Chinese imperial dynasty, the Qing. Under French law, only they can speak in court as a plaintiff, and without them the trial would be impossible.

And yet, the Chinese art-patriots are very optimistic. «No matter what the result will be. The main thing is that we have the attention of the Chinese people, - the representative association of lawyers Sinfen Li (Li Xingfeng). - This case has helped people learn more about the protection of national treasures with the help of legal action ».

material produced Catherine Onuchin

Sources: bloomberg.com , xinhuanet.com , artinfo.com , artinvestment.ru