According to the administration’s statement, the auction house was contacted and asked to stick to international law and respect Chinese people’s sensitivity on the matter. The Canterbury Auction Galleries responded on Monday, refusing to withdraw the artifact from the auction catalog.

“We strongly condemned the action taken by Canterbury Auction, which ignored our protest, insisted on putting the cultural relic up for auction and even promoted it as war booty,” the statement said.

The administration also vowed to keep close tabs on follow-up incidents and take countermeasures.

“We will take any action necessary to bring stolen Chinese cultural relics home,” the statement added.

In recent years, the administration has investigated many Chinese artifacts lost overseas and endeavored to prevent them from being resold.

In 2016, some Dunhuang scripts, illegally taken from Gansu province by a Japanese abbot in the early 20th century, appeared in a Yokohama auction house, but that auction was canceled in the wake of Chinese protests.