Chinese antique experts said yesterday they have recovered a looted part of an 18th-century water clock, but dismissed another purported component that surfaced in Hong Kong recently as a fake.

Jiang Yingchun, chief curator of Poly Art Museum, which is owned by the China Poly Group conglomerate, said a bronze pig head that was part of a Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) water clock was bought from a private collector in New York by a noted Hong Kong business figure, and then donated to the nation's relics authority.

A water clock is an ancient device that measured time by marking the regulated flow of water through a small opening.

Jiang declined to identify the Hong Kong businessman, who was hailed "a patriot." He also refused to disclose the amount the buyer paid for the piece, which was showcased at a Hong Kong news conference yesterday.

The pig head, whose dimensions were not provided, was featured in the clock along with the other 11 animals of the Chinese zodiac.

The relic animal heads were looted by British and French troops during the second Opium War in 1860 from Beijing's imperial Yuan Ming Yuan, also known as the Old Summer Palace. China has demanded the return of the looted relics.

Earlier, the Poly Art Museum spent a total of more than US$4 million to buy back three of the water clock heads - the tiger, ox and monkey - at auctions in Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, the experts said yesterday that a dog head purportedly belonging to the water clock and up for auction isn't part of the piece.

"The style is completely different. It sticks out," said Yi Suhao, a consultant to Poly Art Museum.

Jiang said experts had reached their conclusion after examining photographs of the relic.

Yi said the pig head unveiled yesterday, on the other hand, matched the earlier acquired pieces in bronze quality and craftsmanship.

Kwong Lum, chief consultant at the Hong Kong auction house selling the dog head, declined immediate comment.

Yi said three other heads have been located - the horse head is in Taiwan, while the rat and rabbit heads are in France.

The whereabouts of the dragon, snake, goat, chicken and dog heads are unknown.

(eastday.com September 19, 2003)