Some netizens referred to the Christie's case half a year ago, in which Cai Mingchao, a domestic relics collector, claimed he had secured the winning bid of two looted Chinese bronze relics with 14 million euros ($21 million) each but refused to pay for the objects later, calling for the items to be returned to Chinese officials to be kept safely as historical relics.
Experts warned against too much public outcry, noting that some overseas auctioneers are using Chinese people's patriotism to drive up the prices of Chinese relics.
People should first learn how the relics were taken from China to avoid "blind condemnations", said Jin Yunchang, a researcher from the Palace Museum.
If the relics are not stolen objects, they can be legally auctioned.
A large-scale condemnation from the Chinese people will only drive up the hammer price, which is not good for potential Chinese bidders, he said.
According to the Chinese Cultural Relics Association, up to 10 million cultural relics were looted or illegally sold from China between 1840 and 1949.
By Xie Yu
Editor: Dong Jirong
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