Continued from my previous post….
So I learned that the mysterious telephone bidder for the two relics at the YSL-Bergé auction last week turned out to be a Chinese collector who did not plan to pay for them. His name is Cai Mingchao, a consultant for China’s National Treasure Fund, an organization created to buy back looted and stolen relics.He said in a press conference, “What I want to stress today is that the money cannot be paid. Every Chinese person would have liked to do like this at that moment, and I’m honored to have the chance to make the bid.” A week before, China’s State Administration of Cultural Heritage declared last week that the auction had caused “serious damage to Chinese people’s cultural rights, interests and national sentiments”. He also warned of repercussions for Christie’s operations in China.
Christie (the auction house) declined to confirm or deny Cai’s claim, while also refusing to comment or speculate on the next steps that they might take. Speaking on the French radio station France Info on Monday, Bergé said that if the two relics are not paid for, he would simply keep them himself.
I’m not trying to defend any side, but I do think that it’s a pity that China had to sabotage the auction, lest the country lost them to outsiders. Bidding for the fountainheads, and then refusing to pay for them is not the most sympathetic action to take. I just regret the fact that no Chinese philanthropist cared to step up at the auction to buy the relics to present it back to China. This would have solved the problems, while still respecting all other parties involved.
It is because China believes that the relics are national heritage that belong to the Chinese, which they indeed are. To have them for sale in an auction is an enormous disrespect for the country. Perhaps China feels that paying money to get the two fountainheads back means stepping out of their belief to compromise. And to compromise means to partly acknowledge the rights of the seller.
But the way I see it, if compromising (in this case spending 40$ million for charity) means getting what I want (the rat & rabbit fountainheads) while keeping all other parties happy, then I don’t see anything wrong with it. I completely understand that this might be too much to ask from a country with righteous pride. But why are there no single Chinese individual billionaire who would take the extra mile and do it for China?