Two a penny

.A Chinese bidder snapped up an 18th-century Qing Dynasty seal for 1.68 million euros ($3 million) at a Paris auction held despite protests from Beijing.
It was acquired by a Chinese national who refused to give his name, telling reporters he was acting on behalf of an art collector in France.
Beijing says the white jade imperial seal was looted from the Summer Palace in 1860.
Earlier, the authorities that manage Beijing’s Summer Palace – former home to China’s Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) emperors – issued a sharp protest over the sale, saying the seal was looted by British and French forces in 1860.
Sold as part of a collection of Asian art, the seal went for more than five times its estimated price of 300,000 euros.
“We once again express strong indignation at this sort of repeated action that hurts the Chinese people’s feelings, harms their cultural interests and violates relevant international pacts.
“Such relics should all be repatriated to China and returned to their place of origin,” the Beijing palace authority said in a statement.
Mounted with two carved dragons back to back, the seal comes from the personal collection of a descendant of Elie Jean de Vassoigne – a French general who commanded some of the invading troops.”
China’s Government did not immediately comment.
Thierry Portier, auctioneer at Beaussant-Lefevre which organised the sale, said there was no reason not to go ahead.
The 10-centimetre piece bears an inscription reading “peace and tranquility to the nation”.
“We know he was in Takov at the time,” he said, adding that it was not known how the seal came to be in his possession. .
Christie’s decision to sell the looted bronzes sparked a firestorm of criticism in China and further strained Sino-French relations already hurt by a December meeting between President Nicolas Sarkozy and the Dalai Lama.
The auction comes two months after the contested sale of two bronze animal heads, drawn from the collection of late French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Berge.
A Chinese art collector later said he was the bidder, but refused to pay the 31.
Authorities in Beijing repeatedly called for the sale of the Saint Laurent bronzes to be halted and the relics returned to China.
–

.4 million euro sale price for the pair, leaving the auction in limbo