China Hunts for Art Treasures in U.S. Museums

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/17/world/asia/17china.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&pagewanted=print

December 17, 2009
Uneasy Engagement
China Hunts for Art Treasures in U.S. Museums
By ANDREW JACOBS

China’s “treasure hunting team” descended on the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York last week, and James C.Y. Watt, the patrician head of Asian art, braced for a confrontation.

For the past two weeks, the delegation of Chinese cultural experts has swept through American institutions, seeking to reclaim items once ensconced at the Old Summer Palace in Beijing, which was one of the world’s most richly appointed imperial residences until British and French troops plundered it in 1860.

With a crew from China’s national broadcaster filming the visit, the Chinese fired off questions about the provenance of objects on display, and when it came to a collection of jade pieces, they requested documentation to show that the pieces had been acquired legally.