'Looted' Chinese treasures auctioned

Auctions were disrupted by protesters

For the second time in three days, an international auction house in Hong Kong has defied China by selling treasures alleged to have been looted by British and French troops 140 years ago.

Ignoring Beijing's protests, auction house Sotheby's sold a 18th century Qing dynasty hexagonal porcelain vase for the equivalent of $2.69m.

The 18th century Qing dynasty vase sold for $2.69m

A bronze tiger sculpture from a water clock made in 1744 for the Yuan Ming Yuan, the imperial Old Summer Palace outside Beijing, fetched more than $1.8m.

On Sunday, protesters disrupted the sale by Christies of two bronze objects - a monkey's and an ox's head, from the palace. The items were sold for about $2.05m.

The water clock featured heads of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac, which are 17 inches high.

China's demands

The monkey's head was sold on Sunday by Christie's

All the items were bought by bidders acting for China's Heritage department.

One of the buyers said that his company would consult with the Beijing government to decide what to do with the Qing vase, which was allegedly taken from the Old Summer Palace in 1860 during the Second Opium War.

China's State Administration of Cultural Relics said last week it had asked the auction houses to stop the sale and said they faced dire consequences if the auctions went ahead.

These were the first auctions of such controversial objects since Hong Kong was reunited with China in July 1997.

Protests

The two auctions stirred outrage among many Chinese.

The water clock in the Old Summer Palace featured heads of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac

A handful of protesters attempted to block the sale on Tuesday, demanding that the stolen works be returned to China.

They were prevented by police and hotel security officials from entering the auction room. There were minor scuffles with police but no injuries and no arrests.

"Return the national relics to the motherland," the protestors chanted.

"The treasures belong to the Chinese. They don't belong to the invaders," protester Leung Kwok-hung said.

Bidding for the Qing vase was briefly disrupted when one man who entered the venue with more than 100 potential bidders, shouted to the auctioneer to "stop selling looted goods. Return them to the motherland."

He was quickly escorted outside.