Cai Mingchao, a Chinese antique collector and an adviser to the National Treasures Fund, said he placed the winning bid for the two Qing bronzes auctioned in Paris last week and won’t be paying.

The National Treasures Fund is a group backed by the Chinese Ministry of Culture that pools donations to retrieve relics abroad.

Christie’s had proceeded with the sale of the Qing bronzes, severed from a water clock by marauding British and French troops from the Summer Palace in 1860, despite protests from China’s art advocacy groups, patriots and the foreign ministry.

According to a Christie’s brochure, the company may hold the defaulting buyer liable for the total amount due and start legal proceedings to recover interest, legal fees and costs “to the fullest extent permitted under applicable law.”