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Ai Weiwei zodiac sculptures up for auction in London

An auction house employee poses for the photographers in front of a gold plated zodiac dragon head, part of the 2010 art piece by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, entitled: 'Circle of Animals/ Zodiac Heads', during a photo call in central London, Monday, Feb. 9, 2015. According to Phillips auction house, the zodiac heads are inspired by those which once comprised a water clock-fountain at the Old Summer Palace, the celebrated masterpiece of Chinese landscape design. The heads, each representing a sign of the Chinese Zodiac, are expected to set a record price for the contemporary artist of some 2-3 million British pounds (some 3-4,5 million US dollars, some 2,6-4,03 million euros) when offered at auction on Feb. 12-13, 2015. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis) An auction house employee poses for the photographers in front of a gold plated zodiac dragon head, part of the 2010 art piece by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, entitled: 'Circle of Animals/ Zodiac Heads', during a photo call in central London, Monday, Feb. 9, 2015. According to Phillips auction house, the zodiac heads are inspired by those which once comprised a water clock-fountain at the Old Summer Palace, the celebrated masterpiece of Chinese landscape design. The heads, each representing a sign of the Chinese Zodiac, are expected to set a record price for the contemporary artist of some 2-3 million British pounds (some 3-4,5 million US dollars, some 2,6-4,03 million euros) when offered at auction on Feb. 12-13, 2015. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

By Associated Press February 9, 2015 1 min read

LONDON (AP) – A group of golden animal heads by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei representing the signs of the zodiac is up for sale in London.

“Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads” is predicted to fetch between 2 million and 3 million pounds (from $3 million to $4.6 million) at the Phillips auction house on Thursday.

The gold-plated heads were inspired by a set of 12 on a fountain at Beijing’s Old Summer Palace, which was destroyed by French and British troops in 1860.

Only seven of the fountain’s heads survive, and Ai has said his goal was to make the set complete again. His version of the heads went on display Monday.

A larger version of Ai’s zodiac sculpture is touring the world. Chinese authorities will not let the dissident artist leave the country.