The man who ordered the purchase of one of the looted relics auctioned last week died of a heart attack brought on by stress and overwork, his company said yesterday.
Qin Gong, 57, general manager of the Beijing Cultural Relics Company, died on Wednesday in his office where he had been working long hours since the uproar started over the sale of the four artefacts stolen from the Old Summer Palace in Beijing, a company spokesman said.
Qin's company bought a hexagonal vase for $20.9 million in Sotheby's auction last Tuesday. 'Because of the auction, general manager Qin had become exhausted. He never slept properly, routinely staying up until one or two in the morning and spending the night alone in the office. The night before his death, he was still working at 5am,' the spokesman said.
At 8am on Wednesday, Qin spoke to staff and encouraged them to work harder. About two hours later he suffered a seizure. An ambulance arrived 20 minutes later but medics were unable to revive him and he was pronounced dead at 11am.
Qin made the decision to buy the vase and he alone decided the spending limit, the company spokesman said. 'The final price was lower than he expected.' He said Qin wanted the vase because he felt it was a national treasure of exceptional beauty.
A bronze tiger's head sold in the same auction for $15.4 million to the China Poly Group, which also bought a monkey's head and an ox's head at a Christie's auction last Sunday.
