The controversy over the auction of two looted bronze sculptures originating from China by Paris Christie's has reached a climax this week, when the secret bidder unveiled himself and refused to pay in the name of patriotism.

Cai Mingchao - a seasoned art buyer and advisor to China's National Treasures Fund that was dedicated to retrieving Chinese relics from abroad - told a news conference in Beijing on March 2 that no payment should be made to bring home the sculptures, which he said were rightfully China's.

"I believe any Chinese would have stood up for this cause... I am just answering to my civic responsibility," he said in a statement, referring to his decision to bid for the artifacts and later refuse payment.

The two bronze sculptures, a rat and a rabbit head looted by British and French allied forces from the Qing Dynasty's Old Summer Palace (Yuan Mingyuan) in Beijing in 1860, were won for