Drums, scrolls used in Olympics opening go under hammer

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-03-09 18:10

BEIJING -- China Beijing Equity Exchange (CBEX) will auction 410 "Fou" drums and about 1,000 "Zhujian" bamboo scrolls used in the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games, the auctioneer said in an on-line statement Monday.

Bidders compete for "Fou" drums (L front), used for the Beijing Olympics opening performance, at Beijing Equity Exchange on March 8, 2009. [Xinhua]

Bidding starts at 9:30 a.m. on March 18, it said.

This will be the second and last auction of "Fou" drums held by CBEX, which was chosen by the Olympics organizing committee to sell the items.

On Sunday, CBEX auctioned 1,000 "Fou" drums, raising 52.45 million yuan (about 7.7 million US dollars). The eight-hour event attracted 439 organizations and individual bidders, it said.

"Fou" drums are ancient instruments made from clay or bronze. "Zhujian" scrolls were used instead of paper in ancient China.