分析：鼠首•兔首•蔡铭 Chinese art bid cash withheld

分析：鼠首•兔首•蔡铭 Chinese art bid cash withheld

中国一位艺术品收藏家昨日承认，自己是佳士得(Christie's)上周在巴黎拍卖的两件中国青铜像的最后竞拍者，随后他表示将不会付款。

中国南方城市厦门的一家拍卖行总经理蔡铭超，开创了圆明园鼠首、兔首传奇怪异的新篇章。这两件艺术品在1860年被人从北京近郊的圆明园劫掠，并作为伊夫•圣洛朗(Yves Saint Laurent)财产的一部分进行拍卖。

佳士得此前表示，一位不愿透露姓名的竞拍者以总计3149万欧元的价格拍得这两尊青铜像。它们是在伊夫•圣洛朗收藏品3.73亿欧元的创纪录拍卖活动中的最后一天，被拿出来进行拍卖。

 中国政府、公民团体和律师谴责了此次拍卖活动，他们呼吁有关方面归还这两件青铜器，并试图通过诉讼来阻止拍卖，但未获成功。

此次行动穿插着博主和媒体的民族主义言论以及政府的严厉声明，与以往由企业家买下此类国宝并带回国内的传统模式不同。2007年，12生肖兽首铜像中的马首在香港苏富比(Sotheby's)拍卖。但澳门亿万富翁何鸿燊(Stanley Ho)在拍卖前以约900万美元的价格购得，并将其捐赠给中华抢救流失海外文物专项基金(Beijing's Special Fund for Rescuing Lost Cultural Relics)。

2006年，蔡铭超以1300万美元的价格拍得明朝的一尊铜佛，并带回国内。

这位艺术品收藏家昨日展示了他的爱国精神，宣称不会为铜像付款。他表示："每一位中国人在这种时刻都会站出来，我不过是正好被给予了这个机会。但是，我想强调的是，这个钱不能付。"

中华抢救流失海外文物专项基金表示，蔡铭超代表该基金参与了拍卖。该基金的资金来源为私人捐赠和国家补贴。

基金会副总干事牛宪峰称，蔡铭超是在叫价到1100万欧元时参与的竞拍，但补充称，原意就是不付款。

佳士得拒绝就蔡铭超是否是最后竞拍者发表置评，也不愿说下面会怎样。这家拍卖行只是表示，当出现问题时，将努力在买家和卖家之间调停。如果买家不付款的话，佳士得的拍卖规则提出了许多解决方案，包括采取法律行动，取消拍卖或重新进行拍卖。

不过，这一事件的复杂性意味着，其他潜在的竞拍者目前也许会避开这些兽首，同时，在巴黎大皇宫(Grand Palais)公开竞拍这种有利于提升价值的拍卖环境，也不会再出现了。

艺术品市场专家表示，蔡铭超可能被禁止参与佳士得未来的拍卖活动。一位有着艺术品交易经验的律师表示："如果你可以这样搅局，在未来的拍卖中，每次中国人希望追回一件物品时，就可以如此行事。"

 
auction house  
拍卖行
 
bizarre  
D.J.[bi'zɑ:] 
K.K.[bɪ'zɑr] 
adj.
奇形怪状的, 怪诞的
  
saga  
D.J.['sɑ:gə] 
K.K.['sɑɡə] 
n.
(挪威或冰岛的)长篇英雄故事
  
loot  
D.J.[lu:t] 
K.K.[lut] 
n.
赃物, 掠夺物, 战利品
vt. & vi.
抢劫, 掠夺
  
Laurent  
['lɔrənt] 
劳伦,洛朗(Hermann,1841-1908,法国数学家)
 
coalition  
D.J.[,kəuə'liʃən] 
K.K.[,koə'lɪʃən] 
n.
结合体, 同盟
 
nationalistic  
[,næʃənə'listik] 
adj.
民族主义的; 国家主义的
  
rhetoric  
D.J.['retərik] 
K.K.['rɛtərɪk] 
n.
1 雄辩言辞, 虚夸的言辞
2 修辞学
  
stern  
[stə:n] 
adj.
1 苛刻的, 严格的
2 严肃的, 严厉的
  
entrepreneur  
D.J.[,ɔntrəprə'nə:] 
K.K.[,ɑntrəprə'nɚ, -'nʊr] 
n.
1 〈法〉企业家
2 主办人
  
artefact  
D.J.['ɑ:tifækt] 
K.K.['ɑrtə,fækt] 
n.
人工制品(尤指有考古价值的工具或武器)
  
mediate  
D.J.['mi:dieit] 
K.K.['midi,et] 
vi.
调停, 调解, 斡旋
vt.
居间促成
 
Christie's  
n.
克利斯蒂拍卖行
 
lay out  
1 陈设; 展开
2 设计
3 〈非正〉花钱, 花力气
4 〈非正〉击倒, 打倒
 
shun  
D.J.[ʃʌn] 
K.K.[ʃʌn] 
vt.
避开, 回避, 避免
 
ban  
D.J.[bæn] 
K.K.[bæn] 
vt.
取缔, 查封, 禁止
n.
禁止, 禁令

A Chinese art trader identified himself yesterday as the winning bidder for two Chinese bronzes auctioned by Christie's last week in Paris then said he would not pay for the works.

Cai Mingchao, head of an auction house in the southern city of Xiamen, has opened a bizarre new chapter in the saga of the heads of a rabbit and a rat that were looted from the Old Summer Palace near Beijing in 1860 and came on the block as part of Yves Saint Laurent's estate.

Christie's had said a bidder who wished to remain anonymous had offered a total of €31.49m ($40m, £28m) for the bronzes that were offered on the last day of the record-breaking €373m Yves St Laurent sale.

China's government, a coalition of private citizens and lawyers had denounced the auction, called for the return of the bronzes and made an unsuccessful attempt in court to block their sale.

The campaign, peppered with nationalistic rhetoric from bloggers and media and stern statements from the government, was a departure from the pattern in which entrepreneurs bought such national treasures back for the motherland. In 2007, a horse's head from the same set of 12 zodiac figures came up for auction at Sotheby's Hong Kong. But Stanley Ho, the Macao billionaire, bought the piece for about $9m before the sale and donated it to Beijing's Special Fund for Rescuing Lost Cultural Relics.

In 2006, Mr Cai paid $13m to bring home a Ming dynasty Buddha bronze.

The art trader demonstrated his patriotism yesterday by proclaiming that nothing should be paid for the artefacts. "Every Chinese would have stood up in that moment. It was just that I was given the opportunity," he said. "But I want to emphasise that this money cannot be paid."

The lost artefacts fund, an organisation that finances itself from private donations and state subsidies, said Mr Cai had taken part in the auction on its behalf.

Niu Xianfeng, deputy head of the fund, said Mr Cai entered the auction after bids had reached a level of €11m but added that the intention was not to pay.

Christie's refused to comment on whether Mr Cai was the winning bidder, nor would it say what would happen next. The auction house just said that in cases where problems emerged, it would try and mediate between seller and buyer. Christie's conditions of sale lay out a number of solutions should a buyer not pay, including taking legal action, cancelling the sale or re-offering the item.

However, the complications surrounding the episode mean that the heads might now be shunned by other potential bidders, and the value-boosting circumstances of the sale, held in a glare of publicity in Paris's Grand Palais, are just not there any more.

Art market experts said Mr Cai was likely to be banned from future auctions at Christie's. "If you could just play around like this, the Chinese could play that game every time an object they want back comes up for sale in the future," said a lawyer with experience in the art trade.