BEIJING—Christie's upcoming sale of the art collection of late designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Bergé has Chinese officials up in arms, the Guardian reports. The Chinese are angry about the sale of two bronze sculptures of rat and hare heads — valued at £9 million ($14.3 million) each — that were taken from the imperial summer residence Yuanmingyuan when British and French forces sacked the palace during the Second Opium War (1856–60).

China has repeatedly requested the return of the two bronzes, which, together with 10 others, once constituted a vast fountain in the palace. The country tried to arrange a private sale but refused to pay the requested £18 million, with one official calling the price "robbery." Niu Xianfeng, deputy director of China's Lost Cultural Relics Recovery Fund, had attempted to purchase the bronzes in 2003 and 2004 but also disagreed on the price, then £6 million each.

China Daily has described the bronzes as "war plunder," while Christie's argues that each piece has a clear legal title. Five of the heads have already been repatriated. Experts fear the remaining five have been destroyed.

The Saint Laurent and Bergé auction will take place February 23–25 in Paris.