A cameraman films "Morning Mist in Spring," an artwork by artist Zhang Daqian, at an auction in Hong Kong in this Sept. 1, 2011 photo. (Photo : REUTERS)
The former chief librarian at a Chinese university admitted in court Tuesday to stealing over 140 paintings in a gallery under his watch and replacing them with forgeries he painted himself.
For two years up until 2006, Xiao Yuan stole famous artworks, including landscapes and calligraphies, in a gallery within the library of the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts.
In his defense, Xiao told the court that the practice was supposedly rampant and that such paintings were not secured properly. He said that he noticed that forgeries were already being displayed at the gallery on his first day on the job. Later, when he switched some of the remaining authentic paintings with his own fakes, he was surprised that his fake paintings were also replaced with even more fakes.
"I realized someone else had replaced my paintings with their own because I could clearly discern that their works were terribly bad," Xiao told Guangzhou People's Intermediate Court, which posted a video of the two-hour hearing on its website.
Xiao said that he didn't know who had replaced his forgeries, but noted that the university's professors and students could take out paintings in the same way as they could borrow library books.
125 of the paintings were sold at auctions between 2004 and 2011 for more than 34 million yuan ($6 million), with Xiao using his earnings to purchase apartments and other paintings. The 18 others he stole have an estimated value of 70 million yuan ($11 million), according to prosecutors.
Xiao pleaded guilty to a corruption charge for forging the 143 paintings, and said that he deeply regretted his crime.
The stolen artworks mentioned in the court transcript included paintings by influential 20th-century painters Qi Baishi and Zhang Daqian.
Also stolen was "Rock and Birds" by Zhu Da, a 17th-century painter and calligrapher known for his ink monochromes.
Xiao said that he stopped his counterfeiting when the paintings were transferred to another gallery. He was the university's chief librarian until 2010, and his crimes were exposed when an employee discovered what had happened and reported it to the authorities.
Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts declined to comment on the issue.
Xiao will be sentenced at a later date.
