Ren Xiaohong (R), a lawyer for the Association for the Protection of Chinese Art in Europe (APACE), the plaintiff, speaks to the media with her colleague Ayagh at the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris, capital of France, Feb. 23, 2009. The Paris court on Monday ruled against stopping the sale of two looted Chinese bronze sculptures which come up for auction at Christie's on Wednesday.(Xinhua/Zheng Suchun) Photo Gallery>>>

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>>>

    PARIS, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- A Paris court on Monday ruled against stopping the sale of two looted Chinese bronze sculptures which come up for auction at Christie's on Wednesday.

    Under the ruling of the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris, the plaintiff, the Association for the Protection of Chinese Art in Europe (APACE), was ordered to pay compensation to the defendant.

Ren Xiaohong, a lawyer for the Association for the Protection of Chinese Art in Europe (APACE), the plaintiff, speaks to the media at the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris, capital of France, Feb. 23, 2009. The Paris court on Monday ruled against stopping the sale of two looted Chinese bronze sculptures which come up for auction at Christie's on Wednesday.(Xinhua/Zheng Suchun) Photo Gallery>>>

    Ren Xiaohong, a lawyer for APACE, told Xinhua that it was "of great significance" to file the lawsuit.

    "We hope to arouse public attention in Europe on the fate of numerous Chinese works stolen in the past, to help keep those relics well protected and collected," Ren said.

    The Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) relics, the heads of a bronze rabbit and a rat, were among an original set of 12 bronze animal heads that 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.

Ayagh, a lawyer for the plaintiff, speaks to the media at the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris, capital of France, Feb. 23, 2009. The Paris court on Monday ruled against stopping the sale of two looted Chinese bronze sculptures which come up for auction at Christie's on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Zheng Suchun) Photo Gallery>>>

    The pair became part of a collection of the late fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent. They have been put up for auction by his partner, Pierre Berge.

    The two items are expected to fetch between 16 million and 20 million euros (20.8 million to 26 million U.S. dollars).

    So far, five of the 12 bronze animal heads have been returned to China, while the whereabouts of five others are unknown.

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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