Chinese lawyers vow to carry on despite French court rule on looted bronzes

Ren Xiaohong, one of the lawyer group and representing the APACE in Paris, told Xinhua Monday that it was "of great significance" to file the lawsuit, even though the motion was rejected.

"We hope to arouse public attention in Europe over the fate of numerous Chinese works stolen in the past, to help keep those relics well protected and collected," she said.

The bronze sculptures became part of a collection of the late fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and were put up for auction by his partner, Pierre Berge.

They are expected to fetch between 16 million and 20 million euros (20.8 million to 26 million U.S. dollars) at Wednesday's auction.

So far, five of the 12 bronze animal heads have been returned to China, while the whereabouts of five others are unknown.

Legal experts here voiced their concerns about the lawsuit.

"With full respect to their sincerity and patriotism, I think there is little chance of them winning the lawsuit," Wang Yunxia, a professor of cultural relics law at Renmin University in Beijing.

"So far, I haven't seen any international conventions or laws that could be applied to the relics dating back that far (to the Qing Dynasty)," she said.

Editor:Liu Anqi