A Chinese art collector identified himself today as the winning bidder in last week's Paris auction for two sculptures looted from Beijing in the 1800s but said that, as a patriot, he had no intention of paying.
Christie's, which had triggered Chinese anger by holding the sale, would not say what action it would take against the bidder, only that the bronze sculptures of the heads of a rat and a rabbit would not be released until it had been paid.
Cai Mingchao, a collector and adviser to a private foundation in China that seeks to retrieve looted treasures, said he successfully bid for the items which sold for €15 million each at an auction for the art collection of late designer Yves Saint Laurent.
But Mr Cai said the relics should not have been put up for sale as they had been stolen from Beijing's Summer Palace, which was razed in 1860 by French and British forces.
"I think any Chinese person would have stood up at that moment. It was just that the opportunity came to me. I was merely fulfilling my responsibilities," said Mr Cai, who in 2006 paid more than $13 million for a gold Buddha statue at an auction in Hong Kong.
A spokeswoman for Christie's in Hong Kong said lots were not released until the balance of payment had been received but the auction house declined to comment on any action it might take. "We are aware of today's news reports," a London-based spokesperson said, in emailed comments.
"As a matter of policy, we do not comment on the identity of our consignors or buyers, nor do we comment or speculate on the next steps that we might take in this instance."
Saint Laurent's partner Pierre Berge, who angered Beijing by declaring before the sale that he would return the bronzes if China allowed the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama to return home, brushed the controversy aside.
"They couldn't get them back. So I imagine they put pressure on a buyer," he told France Info radio, adding that if the buyer did not pay, he would not get the bronzes.
"I'll keep them at my place," he said. "We will continue to live together in my home."
The foundation advised by Mr Cai, formally called the China Fund for Recovering Cultural Artefacts Lost Overseas, says on its website (www.relicsrecovery.org) that it was set up in 2002 in Beijing by a group of academics and "prominent people".
A spokesman for China's State Administration of Cultural Heritage said the government body was unaware of Mr Cai's news conference and added that the foundation was not affiliated to the government.
Reuters