Sept. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Sotheby's said it plans to sell a Qing Dynasty horse head looted from China's imperial retreat for as much as HK$80 million ($7.7 million), sparking calls from Chinese officials for the sculpture to be returned to the nation.

The bronze is one of 12 zodiac animals from a water-clock fountain in Yuanmingyuan, or the imperial summer palace, according to Sotheby's, the world's biggest publicly traded auction house. The palace was set ablaze and its treasures plundered and scattered by British and French troops in October 1860. The horse head is the highlight of Sotheby's four-day Hong Kong auction starting on Oct. 6.

``This is stolen property,'' said Xu Yongxiang, who buys exhibits for the state-run Shanghai Museum. ``It should be returned to the Chinese people through the government, not sold.''

Sotheby's Asia Chief Executive Kevin Ching said he's aware of the criticism and stands by his decision to auction it. The 1995 United Nations Unidroit Convention limits claims on stolen cultural artifacts to within 50 years of their theft.

``The sale is a valid commercial transaction,'' said Ching, 51. ``We will go ahead and do what is right and proper.''

Total sales at the Hong Kong auction may exceed HK$1 billion, he said. Sotheby's has received inquiries on the piece from private collectors, said Ching. The seller is a ``well-known Taiwanese collector,'' he said, declining to be more specific.

Army Purchases

More than 1 million pieces of top-grade Chinese relics are scattered in more than 200 museums in 47 nations, according to a 2003 article by state-run Xinhua News. Looting was at its worst in the century after the first Opium War (1834-1843), when British, Russians and other foreign troops annexed parts of China. A vast horde of national treasures was also removed from the mainland when the Kuomintang government retreated to Taiwan in 1949. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory.

China, with $1.3 trillion of foreign-exchange reserves, has bought back some key treasures. Beijing's Poly Art Museum, an affiliate of the People's Liberation Army, paid HK$15 million at a Sotheby's auction in 2000 for the fountain's tiger head.

Other exhibits have been bought and returned to China by wealthy executives such as casino billionaire Stanley Ho, who purchased the boar head at a private sale in 2003 and donated it to the Poly museum, which also owns the monkey and ox. The rabbit and the rat belong to a private European collection, while the whereabouts of the other zodiac signs is unknown.

The bronzes were cast by foreign Jesuits, according to Sotheby's. Qianlong Emperor (reign: 1736-1795) had commissioned Italian Jesuit artist Giuseppe Castiglione and Father Michel Benoist to design the European-style palaces and fountains. The Qing Dynasty reigned from 1636 to 1912.

Tiger-Head Protests

Sotheby's 2000 sale of the tiger head sparked protests in Hong Kong, initiated by lawmakers such as Leung Kwok-Hung, better known by his moniker Long-Hair.

``There is historical significance to this horse head bronze,'' said Leung. ``It belongs to a museum, not necessarily a Chinese museum, but definitely not to any single individual.''

Leung said he may organize another protest if Sotheby's proceeds with the auction.

``People who own these objects have paid good money for them,'' said Ching. ``They are not going to hand them back to China free of charge. What we wish is for the item to return to the hands of those who love it.''

To contact the reporters for this story: Le-Min Lim in Hong Kong at lmlim@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 5, 2007 12:06 EDT