Authorities to tighten supervision over relic market

The State Administration of Cultural Heritages has disqualified from auction eight categories of relics, including those gained from stealing, tomb-raiding and smuggling, according to a document released on the administration's official website on July 5.

The country's authority on cultural-relics protection is tightening its supervision over relics that are under the hammer as the agency seeks to curb illegal practices in the market.

Auction companies also may not change auction items' official names without authorization, or use key words like "rare", "only" and "national treasure" in their introductions.

Song Xinchao, deputy head of the administration, told a news conference on July 5 that the move is a response to problems in the relic auction market in recent years.

"Relic-collecting has become popular in recent years, attracting more investors. However, some serious problems like fraud have also shown up, which will affect the long-term development of the market," Song said.

The administration also clarified the responsibilities of auction professionals and possible punishments for those who make false verifications. Auctioning fake items that the companies know are not rare is common, he said.

"In the past, no laws and examination procedures gave specific requirements for the auction items, which caused some companies to auction fake items intentionally," Song said. "Heritage regulators, on the other hand, didn't regard regulating fake items a part of their responsibility."

The administration emphasized that the auction items' examination reports should include opinions of the auction companies' verifiers, and added that those who make false verifications will be punished.

China hasn't established a qualification management system for relic verifiers, and the practices of relic verifications have long lacked effective oversight, Song said.

"Cases involving some verifiers abusing their position for profit and making false verifications to mislead collectors were not rare," Song said. "In the future, verifiers must provide relevant evidence and sign their names when they tag the item as, for example, a Tang Dynasty piece."

In addition, the administration has jointly issued a notice with the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television to strengthen the regulation of TV programs that focus on relic verification.

Song said China has more than 20 such programs, and some of them focus too much on the commercial value of the relics they are promoting, giving the wrong ideas about investment and collection. Even some illegal items have appeared in these programs.

The notice requires all TV programs to review their contents. In addition to scientifically demonstrating the verification methods, the programs should clarify risks of collecting relics as an investment and assess the relics' value objectively by referring to the market.

"They should promote the right values by helping the audience appreciate the cultural value of the relics, instead of emphasizing prices and getting rich overnight," Song said.