On June 28， a handover cer- emony for bronze rat and rabbit heads， hosted by China’s State Administration of Cultural Heritage， was held at the National Museum of China （NMC） in Beijing. At the ceremony， Chinese Vice-Premier Liu Yandong unveiled the donations along with the Pinault family.
　　The two bronze animal heads， which were looted from Beijing’s Yuanmingyuan（Garden of Perfect Brightness） over 150 years ago， are now on display at NMC to be shared with the Chinese public.
　　Francois-Henri Pinault， chief executive of French luxury and retail group Kering， headed to Beijing with his father to bid farewell to the two bronze sculptures as their most recent custodian. On April 26， 2013， the Pinault family announced that they were giving the two bronze sculptures back to China.
　　 Returning Home
　　The rat and rabbit heads originally served as two of 12 bronze animal heads atop human sculptures for a “water clock”in a fountain at Yuanmingyuan. Each animal sprayed water for two hours， and they all spouted simultaneously at noon. However， the bronze sculptures were looted during the destruction of Yuanmingyuan by British and French forces during the Second Opium War in 1860.
　　Not until 1980， when the monkey and pig heads were found on display at the Metropolitan Museum in the U.S.， were the whereabouts of China’s stolen animal heads thrown into the spotlight. Since then， the auction price of bronze animal heads skyrocketed from $1，500 to almost $20 million each in 2009 when the rabbit and rat heads were auctioned by Christie’s in Paris. Despite Chinese protests， the sculptures were acquired by the Pinault family from Pierre Berge.
　　“The family went through great effort to retrieve these two significant Chinese treasures and strongly believe they belong to their rightful home，” declared Mr. Pinault when asked about his family’s decision. “As the owner of the Christie’s， our family would like to acknowledge our role in facilitating the return.”
　　 Behind the Scenes
　　Despite his philanthropic spirit， Pinault， the chairman and CEO of Kering， was criticized by many who saw his“friendly gesture” as a business strategy. After Christie’s became the first international auction house to operate independently on the Chinese mainland this March， Le Figaro， a French newspaper， opined that the Pinault family was at- tempting to atone for the controversy of the 2009 auction by giving the animal heads back to China. 　　Continually stressing that his family is dedicated to protecting cultural relics and boosting the development of culture and arts， Mr. Pinault asserted that， as a family enterprise， Kering believes in the importance of shouldering social responsibility along with the pursuit of profits.
　　Meanwhile， Liu Yang， an expert with the Yuanmingyuan Academic Committee， expressed the organization’s position： They consider this case an exception rather than the beginning of Yuanmingyuan’s stolen relics all being returned by foreign collectors. “The Pinault family clearly expressed that they were ‘donating’ the relics rather than ‘returning’ them，” noted Liu.
　　Song Xinchao， deputy director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage， had an impressive talk with Pinault on April 25， 2013， accompanied by Cai Jinqing， the head of Christie’s on the
　　Chinese mainland. In an interview with Guangming Daily， Song remarked that the positive energy of Mr. Pinault’s friendly gesture reflects the international attitude that relics belong to the country of origin， and that he deserves the Chinese public’s appreciation. Moreover， the move raises public awareness of the principles of the International Convention on the Protection of Cultural Heritage， which advocates the return of lost relics.
　　To date， seven of the 12 zodiac animal heads have returned to China and are now housed in NMC （rat and rabbit） and Poly Art Museum in Beijing （tiger， pig， monkey， horse， and ox）. However， the whereabouts of the other five – dragon， dog， snake， goat and rooster – remain unknown.