At a ceremony in Beijing on Friday, the family of one of France’s wealthiest businessmen officially returned to China two bronze animal heads that were among the treasures looted in the 19th century from the imperial Summer Palace near Beijing by invading British and French troops. The businessman, François-Henri Pinault, chief executive officer of Kering, the luxury goods company that owns Christie’s auction house, attended the ceremony at the National Museum of China in Tiananmen Square along with senior Chinese and French government officials, including China’s highest-ranking female politician, Liu Yandong, vice premier of the powerful State Council. “This donation is a token of...
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