Also from Forbes
The Yves Saint Laurent Estate Auction included two bronzes that were looted in 1860 by French and British Troops. They are two of a dozen that decorated a fountain at a the Summer Palace in Bejing. The Chinese want them back. Seven have been found; the whereabouts of the five others are unknown.
Cai Mingchao bid 4 million dollars for them in protest of a French court decision that let the sale go forward despite a claim filed by the Association for the Protection of Art of China in Europe.
"I've never heard of a political protest like this, by making a giant bid," Ralph E. Lerner, co-author of Art Law: The Guide for Collectors, Investors, Dealers and Artists, is quoted as saying.
But Utah's Infamous "Bidder 70" is the trail blazer in the art of Protest by Auction.
Bidder 70 is Tim DeChristopher, a 27-year-old University of Utah economics student wanted to disrupt the auction and had no means to pay for his winning bids.
DeChristopher won the bidding on 13 parcels totaling 22,000 acres for $1.7 million dollars, and drove up the price of several other pieces of land.
Utah Treasures
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