Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • AMMpro
  • AMM Fantasy Collecting Game
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

Pinault Gets Good Value from Zodiac Gift

April 28, 2013 by Marion Maneker

Francois-Henri Pinault

Francois Pinault’s son, Francois-Henri, has finally found a use for Christie’s. Besides extracting the right to conduct auctions directly in China for the auction house, the luxury goods CEO is using Christie’s pivotal role at the center of an international drama over a Jesuit-designed Zodiac clock that was looted by European troops to turn a liability into an asset.

Pinault seems to have acquired the two Zodiac heads from Pierre Bergé, who was none too accommodating to the Chinese government, and is now offering them up as a gift of friendship, according to The Financial Times:

“The family went to great efforts to retrieve these two significant treasures of China and strongly believe they belong in their rightful home,” Mr Pinault said. “The family has an international portfolio of businesses with a considerable presence in China. The Pinault Family controls the Kering Group.” […]

The offer by François-Henri Pinault, who is also head of PPR, the luxury goods group, to return the rare bronze animal heads was praised as “an expression of friendship toward the Chinese people,’’ by the country’s Administration of Cultural Heritage.

Mr Pinault was in a delegation of businessmen travelling in China with French President François Hollande during whose visit China placed a $4bn order for Airbus wide-body passenger jets.

Pinault Family Offers to Return Bronze Heads to China (Financial Times)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • Sotheby’s Clyfford Still Paintings Revealed and EstimatedSotheby’s Clyfford Still Paintings Revealed and Estimated
  • The Times Can’t Quit Steven CohenThe Times Can’t Quit Steven Cohen
  • When Art Dealing Is Too EasyWhen Art Dealing Is Too Easy
  • Lucian Freud’s Estate = £95mLucian Freud’s Estate = £95m
  • Understanding Tyeb MehtaUnderstanding Tyeb Mehta
  • Koons Cracked Egg Crushes Young Painter’s Dreams

Filed Under: Emerging Markets

About Marion Maneker

LiveArt

Want to get Art Market Monitor‘s posts sent to you in our email? Sign up below by clicking on the Subscribe button.

  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
California Privacy Rights
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertise on Art Market Monitor
 

Loading Comments...