via Vietnam News, 17 November 2022: The auction of Minh Mang’s gold seal was previously delayed (see here and here), and now the Vietnamese and French governments have come to an agreement to repatriate the seal. The auction has since been called off.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Monday said that it has successfully negotiated with Millon to bring back the seal, following much public interests after the house on October 19 announced the auction of 329 artefacts, including the seal that was made in 1823 and likely to be sold at the price of US$3 million.
Millon later also said it is “pleased to announce that a private agreement has been reached with the State of Việt Nam which will allow the safe return to his country of the Gold Seal,” in a statement available in French, Vietnamese, and English published on its website.
The public auction “So Unique” of November 18, 2022 is therefore cancelled, according to Millon.
See also:
- Vietnam strikes deal with French auction house for 11-kg imperial gold seal | Vietnam Express, 14 Nov 2022
- Consensus reached for return of Nguyen Dynasty’s imperial seal | Saigon Giai Phong, 15 Nov 2022
- Vietnam Buys Back $3 Million Relic French Wanted to Auction Off | Bloomberg, 15 Nov 2022
- Vietnamese King’s gold seal to be repatriated from France | Vietnam Net, 15 Nov 2022
- More efforts taken to repatriate Nguyen Dynasty’s imperial seal | Vietnam Plus, 17 Nov 2022
