“And last, but not least, we’d like to buy Christie’s and shut it down...”
The world’s most controversial rat and rabbit hit the headlines again this week. Readers will recall from WiC4 that the sale of two Qing dynasty bronzes had caused a furore in Beijing. The Chinese government told Christie’s and the seller (Pierre Berge) that the looted items should be returned to China.
Last week they were auctioned for $40 million. But it turns out the winning bidder was Chinese and he is now refusing to pay. In fact, that was his aim all along, in hope of foiling the sale. Cai Mingchao – who had participated in international auctions before – has now been hailed as “an extraordinary citizen”.
Next move, Christie’s.
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