A bronze relic¹ allegedly looted from China has been sold for 410,000 British pounds (around 581,500 U.S. dollars) at an auction² in the United Kingdom despite strong opposition³ from China, reports Chinanews.com.

 

中新网报道，一件据称从中国抢来的青铜文物在英国一场拍卖会上以41万英镑（大约58.15万美元）成交，此次拍卖遭到中方强烈反对。
 

 

According to Canterbury Auction Galleries, Tiger Ying, a rare Chinese bronze water vessel⁴ with its spout⁵ and lid cast with models of tigers, dates back some 3,000 years. Letters from former Royal Marines Captain Harry⁶ Lewis Evans say that the relic was taken by him during the looting of the Old Summer Palace in Beijing in 1860.

 

A statement by China's State Administration of Cultural Heritage on Tuesday said it "firmly opposes and strongly condemns⁷" the auction, and vowed⁸ to help bring back cultural relics⁹ illegally removed from China. It also called for an international boycott¹⁰ of the auction, after a request to Canterbury Auction Galleries to stop the sale was refused.

 

The relic was sold on Wednesday as planned, and for more than twice the expected price of 120,000 to 200,000 pounds.

 

Some Chinese experts have questioned the authenticity¹¹ of the auction house's description of the relic, saying that they can't just rely on a letter to verify the history of the bronze. The experts also doubt the auction house's claim that only seven such bronzes still exist.

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