The Beijing High People's Court ratified an out-of-court compensation agreement on Monday between German art collector and a Beijing dealer that sold him fake paintings in 2002.

The Wenzhijie Culture and Arts Service Center reimbursed John Korfer the 90,000 yuan (US$11,000) he paid for the goods and 57,500 yuan (US$6,900) in damages.

Both parties said they were satisfied with the outcome.

Korfer originally bought five paintings from the Wenzhijie center at the Xu Beihong Memorial Hall in Beijing in 2002, thinking they were by famous artists. The Wenzhijie center issued a receipt declaring the paintings were works by five well-known deceased painters, such as Xu Beihong and Chen Shaomei.

After discovering that four of the five works were imitations, Korfer returned them in an attempt to get a refund of 90,000 yuan (US$11,000). The Wenzhijie center declined, but gave him another three paintings.

But when the three replacements were also determined to be reproductions, Korfer filed a court action.  

At the lower court trial in September 2003, Wenzhijie was ordered to pay Korfer 192,600 yuan (US$23,300), including the purchase price of 90,000 yuan (US$11,000), 90,000 yuan (US$11,000) in damages and 12,600 yuan (US$1,500) for the plaintiff's costs.

The defendant appealed to the High People's Court last year.

The Wenzhijie center claimed that it had not intentionally cheated Korfer.

"As a person who often travels to Beijing to buy paintings, Korfer should have been aware that the paintings he bought were imitations due to the low price," the company said in its appeal. "Korfer declared the paintings to customs as imitations. So if he believed the drawings were real he was smuggling."

Under Chinese law, paintings by famous masters are considered cultural relics and are not allowed to leave the country.

Korfer argued that although he was interested in Chinese paintings, he was not familiar with prices.

The German also claimed that the seller did not inform him that the paintings were imitations.

(China Daily March 15, 2005)