China protests sale of historic bronze water vessel

The elaborately adorned water vessel and cover, referred to as a Tiger Ying because of the tiger decorations, was made between 1100 and 771 B.C. during the Western Zhou Dynasty

On Tuesday China condemned the British auction of a rare bronze water vessel seized by a British soldier from Beijing’s ransacked Imperial Gardens in the 19th Century.  The vessel was auctioned for £410,000

The auction was organized by Kent-based Canterbury Auction Galleries.

It stated that the vessel was taken by a British soldier during the “capture” of what is now called the Old Summer Palace in 1860, towards the end of the Second Opium War.

The Imperial Gardens were an architectural wonder of Western-style palaces and gardens.  They were destroyed and looted by British and French troops in 1860.

The ruins of the palace lie where they fell today, a popular tourist site covering an area of 3.5 square km (865 acres).

China’s State Administration of Cultural Heritage seriously denounced the auction.