According to the China Central Television’s news story last week, a report was filed to the National Cultural Heritage Administration regarding an auction of archaic bronzes held by Xiling Yinshe Auction Co. Ltd, an auction house in Zhejiang province of China, which was under suspicion of selling cultural relics that are forbidden for purchase and sale. The Administration ordered the Zhejiang Provincial Administration of Cultural Heritage to carry out a thorough investigation into the issue. The auction house later withdrew 29 lots from the sale and sold the remaining 5 under the supervision of the Administration.
Some items offered at the sale are suspected to be cultural relics that are forbidden for purchase and sale
A bronze YOU vessel from the Shang dynasty was the top lot of the sale and was expected to fetch between RMB16m-22m (US$2.28m-3.15m)
The sale was scheduled to be held on 15 December, with an offering of 34 bronze vessels from the Shang, Zhou, Han, Tang dynasties. It was expected to be led by a bronze YOU vessel from the late Shang dynasty, which carried an estimate between RMB 16m and 22m (US$2.28m-3.15m).
Among the offering were bronze vessels such as gui, zun, pan vessels and an animal-pattern bronze dagger from the early Western Zhou dynasty (1100BC-771BC), a bronze he vessel from the Warring States period (475 BC-221 BC), a tiger-form weight from Han dynasty and a bronze mirror from the Tang dynasty. National Cultural Heritage Administration received a report from members of the general public that some featured lots of this bronze sale might include cultural relics. In China, the sale and purchase of certain Chinese cultural relics are strictly prohibited.
A bronze Ding Spring and Autumn period. Estimate: RMB6m-8m (US$860,000-US$1.14m)
Another bronze vessel featured in the sale
Another bronze vessel featured in the sale
Bronze Tiger Weight, Han Dynasty. Estimate: RMB5m-8m (US$710,000-1.14m)
Bronze vessel was a symbol of power and prestige in Chinese history. It is also an invaluable cultural treasure with significant historical, archaeological and artistic value. Therefore, there is a rigid set of laws and regulations on handling the sales of archaic Chinese bronzes. In a nutshell, bronzes excavated before 1949, the year of the founding of the People's Republic of China, with well-documented provenance are permitted to be sold on the market. Auction houses need to provide all lots to be sold and related documents to the Administration for rigorous examination and verification before proceeding with the sale. The measure is part of the government’s efforts to combat the prevalent grave robbery in China.
The National Cultural Heritage Administration ordered the Zhejiang Provincial Administration of Cultural Heritage to conduct a thorough investigation into the issue. In fact, the present incident is not an individual case as the Zhejiang Provincial Administration of Cultural Heritage has been failing to act as a gatekeeper preventing sales of cultural relics in recent years.
In 2017, Xiling Yinshe Auction Co. Ltd sold an animal-mask li vessel from the mid Shang dynasty for RMB2.8m. It was later confirmed by experts that the vessel belongs to a group of stolen items in a theft in Anhui Provincial Museum in 1988 and rhe vessel was classified as a grade-one cultural relic.