A looted Chinese relic from a series that triggered a political row when it was offered for sale three years ago will be auctioned in Hong Kong next month.
The Star Daily in Beijing yesterday carried a report saying that the auction of a bronze sculpture featuring a dog's head would be held in Hong Kong on October 26. The same report also appeared on the Sina.com website.
The auction, which will also feature other cultural antiquities, will be held by the Hong Kong Auctions International Company at an Admiralty hotel.
The series of bronze sculptures, featuring the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac, was looted from the Summer Palace in Beijing by the British and French armies 140 years ago, a period widely seen as the most humiliating in modern Chinese history.
Leading auctioneers Christie's and Sotheby's sparked controversy in April and May, 2000, by auctioning three of the sculptures in Hong Kong. This prompted the state-funded China Poly Group to bid for the lot at a price of $31.4 million. The relics were eventually returned to the mainland.
On its website, Hong Kong Auctions International said overseas and local collectors were already following the event closely.
