Castiglione Casting: Auctioned "Chinese" Bronzes, Sought By China, Likely Italian-Designed

London-based Christie's must give details of the ownership and provenance of any artifacts it wants to bring into or out of China, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage [SACH] said today in a statement on its website. [The "English" button on that website didn't work for me.] Antiques that are without papers won't be allowed to enter or leave....China's move today implies added paperwork on antiques handled by Christie's, and may make it tougher for mainland Chinese to bring home artifacts they buy from the company's auctions.

Christie's abides by all international and local laws affecting us in our sale jurisdictions. Christie's has a public history of cooperating with customs and government officials in the few cases where there were questions with legal ownership or cultural patrimony.

In this instance the legal ownership of the fountainheads was clearly confirmed, and we have directly and honestly engaged with SACH in discussing the YSL [Yves Saint Laurent] sale over the past months. We explained our obligation to offer the heads under a binding contract with the vendor covering the entire YSL collection. 

We continue to believe that sale by public auction offers the best opportunity for items to be repatriated as a result of worldwide exposure. Christie's remains committed to China and is sincere in our respect for the government's concerns. We stand ready to discuss the situation with SACH.

They remain looted items, no matter whom they were sold to. Whoever took it out [of China] is himself a thief. It was looting yesterday. It is still looting today.