BEIJING, Feb. 24 -- A Paris court rejected a bid to block the sale of two bronze sculptures looted from China that are to be auctioned with the art collection of the late fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent, according to media reports Monday.

    The Association for the Protection of Chinese Art in Europe (APACE), an association representing Chinese cultural and heritage interests, filed an appeal to have the sale blocked but the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris rejected it, an court official at the Paris court told.

A Paris court rejected a bid to block the sale of two bronze sculptures looted from China that are to be auctioned with the art collection of the late fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent, a court official said on Monday, the Reuters reported.(Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    The court also ordered APACE to pay auctioneer's Christie's and Pierre Berge, Saint Laurent's former business manager and companion, 1,000 euros (1,274 U.S. dollars) in costs each, the report said.

    The Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) relics, representing the head of a rat and the head of a rabbit, once adorned the imperial summer resort Yuanmingyuan. They were looted when the palace was burnt down by Anglo-French allied forces during the Second Opium War in 1860.

    The items currently belong to the Yves Saint Laurent Foundation and were put up for auction by the late fashion magnate's partner, Pierre Berge.

    Chinese lawyers on Thursday night filed a motion to the French court seeking an injunction to stop auction house Christie's putting the two stolen bronze relics under the hammer.

    Bernard Gomez, president of the APACE group, has agreed to be the applicant for property preservation of the two bronze rabbit and rat head sculptures.

    A lawyer for the APACE group told the court on Monday its aim was to "alert public opinion on the fate of numerous Chinese works stolen in the past and sold through trafficking."

    (Source: CRIENGLISH.com/Agencies)

A photographer takes a picture of the Chinese bronze rat head and rabbit head sculptures displayed on the preview of the auction of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge's art collection at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, Feb. 21, 2009. Chinese lawyers have filed a motion to a French court seeking an injunction to stop auction house Christie's putting two bronze relics looted from China under the hammer, lawyers said Friday. The two relics, a bronze rat head and a bronze rabbit head, were looted from China's imperial summer resort Yuanmingyuan when it was burnt down by Anglo-French allied forces during the Second Opium War in 1860. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei) Photo Gallery>>>

Chinese lawyers move to block auction of relics

   BEIJING, Feb. 23 -- A group of Chinese lawyers is now at work in Paris, trying to stop the auction house Christie's from selling two precious relics looted from Beijing's Old Summer Palace.

   The auction of the bronze sculptures of a mouse head and a rabbit head is scheduled to take place in the French capital on Wednesday. Full story

Stolen Chinese relics displayed at Paris auction preview

Chinese lawyers apply for injunction to stop sale of stolen relics

    BEIJING, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese lawyers have filed a motion to a French court seeking an injunction to stop auction house Christie's putting two bronze relics looted from China under the hammer, lawyers said Friday.

    The application was submitted to a Paris court Thursday night, four days before the auction scheduled to be held from Feb. 23 to 25 in Paris, said Liu Yang, head of a group of almost 90 lawyers. Full story 

Auction raises row over China's lost treasures 

   BEIJING, Feb. 20 -- Two lost treasures of Beijing's Old Summer Palace will go on the auction block in Paris on February the 25th. The controversial sale has raised concerns among Chinese societies around the world. Many are teaming up to retrieve the items in the courts. CCTV reporter Pan Deng follows the latest development.

    Take a wild guess on how much these two sculptures are worth. Full story

China wants back imperial treasures

    BEIJING, Feb. 13 -- China has demanded the return of looted imperial bronzes scheduled to be auctioned off in Paris as part of the disposal of the estate of the late French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent.

    The sculptures of a rat head and rabbit disappeared in 1860, when French and British forces sacked the former Imperial Summer Palace on the outskirts of Beijing at the close of the second Opium War. Full story

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