March 2, 2009
Chinese bidder won’t pay for YSL statues
Following the contentious auctioning of statues from the collection of Yves Saint Lauren, it now transpires that the winning bidder does not plan on paying for them – but was bidding as a publicity stunt to highlight the plight of the disputed treasures.
From:
The Times
March 2, 2009
Chinese bidder can’t pay, won’t pay for YSL auction statues
Jane Macartney, China CorrespondentA Chinese bidder who said he had bought at auction two looted bronze imperial sculptures once owned by Yves Saint Laurent announced today that he would not – or could not – pay for the treasures.
The two pieces, the head of a rat and the head of a rabbit that were designed by Jesuit priests as part of a 12-head Chinese zodiac fountain for an imperial pleasure palace in the 18th century, were bought for €15,745,000 (£13,977,000) each by a telephone bidder last week.
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