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Sun Weizhong and the dragon head of the Old Summer Palace
According to the official account of ancient books, the two collectors who spent 2.4 million euros to buy the dragon head of the Old Summer Palace at a French auction are Sun Weizhong, a Canadian, Shanghainese and a member of the Shanghai Collection Association, and Zhou Haisheng, a Taiwanese and director of the Chinese Cultural Relics Society.
Zhou Haisheng and the Old Summer Palace copper tire cloisonné enamel unicorn
Zhou Haisheng also has a collection of cultural relics of the Old Summer Palace, copper tires, cloisonné enamel unicorns. Sold at Christie's in London on 31 May 1965 and sold at John Sparks in London on 14 June 1989, the bronzon was sold in the Chinese Pavilion of the Musée de la Fontainebleau (after the Anglo-French forces looted and burned down the Old Summer Palace, the French army brought a large number of treasures of the Old Summer Palace back to King Napoleon III and his wife Empress Eugenie). The King and Empress were so pleased that not only did they give medals to the soldiers, but Empress Eugenie also opened a Chinese Pavilion at the Château de Fontainebleau to store the trophies. The appearance and size of Empress Eugenie's favorite unicorn are identical. This shows that the piece is a pair of cloisonné enamel unicorns in the collection of the Palace of Fontainebleau. Zhou Haisheng bought the unicorn in London in 2008 for more than 1 million yuan. The bronze cloisonné enamel unicorn in the Chinese Pavilion of the Musée de Fontainebleau was stolen in March 2015 and its whereabouts are unknown.
Zhou Haisheng (second from left)
Zhou Haisheng once said in an interview: The opportunity for me to contact the Chinese mainland market was in 2003, when Beijing was holding an antique city exhibition, and my brother and I moved some porcelain miscellaneous things to sell. Because the calligraphy and paintings are not easy to sell, I only brought some fans. I met Zhao Xu by chance at that exhibition, and then did business with him for a year. At that time, the profits were already quite considerable. In 04, I started to contact auction houses and put things up for auction, and the money I earned in the first auction was about 1 million yuan. It seems ridiculous to earn 1 million yuan for a dozen things, but at that time, I had never made that much money! When I learned the auction results, I really had a feeling of 'fluttering'! In the future, I made millions, or even tens of millions, but I never had the same feeling as before! Since then, I have cooperated with auction companies in Beijing and Shanghai, and I have been working until today.
According to Liu Yang, a staff member of the Old Summer Palace Ruins Park Management Office, in an interview with the figures, Zhou Haisheng was the only collector who "went around looking for the Old Summer Palace (cultural relics)", and they had a good conversation. Zhou Haisheng has collected more than a dozen precious cultural relics of the Old Summer Palace so far, unlike many collectors who sell them after a few years as long as the price is right, Zhou Haisheng "hopes to leave something for the Chinese nation", he told Liu Yang that at the right time, his collection can be donated to the Old Summer Palace.
It is understood that in March this year, the National Museum of China has sent a team to Shanghai Longshou for inspection. In 2022, a team composed of more than a dozen authoritative experts from the China Overseas Cultural Relics Research Center of Shanghai University carried out on-site identification of the dragon's head, conducting all-round analysis and research from morning to night, including a series of scientific and technological means such as 3D imaging, X-ray transmission, non-destructive component detection, etc. Finally, the 40-page report was completed, and the conclusion was that the dragon head was similar to the currently known Yuanmingyuan animal head in terms of materials, craftsmanship and use, and should be a product of the same specification.
Sun Weizhong said in an interview with the collector's parlor that he hopes to donate the dragon head to the country together with Zhou Haisheng at an appropriate time.
The official account of ancient books can only say that this year's Spring Festival Gala of the Year of the Dragon was the best opportunity, but I don't know why it didn't happen, so I can only wait for the follow-up decryption. I believe that in the near future, everyone will be able to see the dragon head of the Old Summer Palace in Chinese museums.