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.
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