The proposed sale of a looted imperial seal from the Summer Palace is stirring up controversy. From AFP:
A French auction house said the sale of an 18th-century Chinese imperial seal would go ahead on Wednesday despite angry protests in Beijing, in the latest row over the sale of looted relics.
“The sale is going ahead, everything is in order,” said Thierry Portier, in charge of the sale organised in Paris by the auctioneer Beaussant-Lefevre, which values the jade piece at 300,000-400,000 euros (396,000-528,000 dollars).
The authorities that manage Beijing’s Summer Palace, former home to China’s Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) emperors, issued a sharp protest on Wednesday saying the seal was looted by British and French forces in 1860.
Earlier this year, the sale of two bronze heads from the Summer Palace also incited strong feelings and protests. Read more on the sale here.
