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Victoria Bela

A former director of a state-owned museum at the centre of a rare high-profile art scandal was sentenced to three years in prison, Chinese state media said on Wednesday.
Xu Huping was found to have abused his position at the Nanjing Museum in eastern Jiangsu province and taken bribes, including money and property, for helping others secure projects and business collaborations.
He was sentenced to prison for three years and fined 200,000 yuan (US$29,800), according to state news agency Xinhua.
Before this, he had been expelled from the Communist Party and stripped of benefits after an investigation into allegations that arose in December last year that the museum had secretly sold donated paintings.
Xu, who was found to have mishandled artworks, was central to the investigation.


The controversy centred on five paintings from a large collection donated by the family of collector Pang Laichen. The paintings were found missing during a court-ordered inventory review last year.
The review came after one of the works – a painting titled Spring in Jiangnan by Qiu Ying from the Ming dynasty – surfaced at an auction house.
A months-long investigation initiated by Jiangsu provincial authorities and the National Cultural Heritage Administration found that some of the five works were illegally sold, transferred or lost.
They found that in the 1990s, then vice-director Xu had violated procedures when he approved the transfer of paintings to a state-owned relics store.
Following the investigation, Xu was placed under formal disciplinary review in February. Xu served as the museum’s director from 2001 to 2005 and retired in 2008.
A relics store employee surnamed Zhang was also placed under investigation for allegedly altering the price tag of Spring in Jiangnan to orchestrate its resale to a private collector.
Authorities found more than two dozen people responsible for the mismanagement and illegal sales of artefacts, with 24 still alive to face punishment.
The timing of the revelations struck a nerve among the Chinese public, which has become increasingly interested in traditional Chinese art and culture in recent years.
The scale of systemic mismanagement at the Nanjing Museum, one of China’s largest and most prominent museums, raised public concerns over the potential for management issues in other museum collections.
In April, the National Cultural Heritage Administration launched a year-long nationwide campaign to inventory all state-owned collections.
Zhang and others, including provincial officials, were also held responsible for violations, such as failing to properly perform their duties or the unauthorised transfer or sale of artworks.
Wednesday’s report did not specify Zhang’s punishment but said that those implicated would face disciplinary action such as dismissal and demotion.
The provincial culture and tourism department and relics bureau, along with the Nanjing Museum, have said they will strengthen the safety management of state-owned museum collections.


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Xu Huping found to have abused his position at Nanjing Museum and taken bribes, including money and property, state media says


Xu Huping found to have abused his position at Nanjing Museum and taken bribes, including money and property, state media says.


Crime

Chinese artifacts

Former director of leading Chinese museum jailed 3 years after art-selling scandal

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Xu Huping found to have abused his position at Nanjing Museum and taken bribes, including money and property, state media says

Xu Huping found to have abused his position at Nanjing Museum and taken bribes, including money and property, state media says