Originally part of the fountain outside the Haiyan Hall of the Yuanmingyuan in Beijing, it was designed by Italian missionary Lang Shining and made by craftsmen in the Qing court. Each animal capital has its unique symbolic significance. In 1860, when the British and French coalition burned down the Yuanmingyuan, it was stolen and lost overseas. The bronze statue of the rat's head represents the hour of Zi (23:00 to 1:00 the next day) and is one of the twelve zodiac bronze statues. It was auctioned at Christie's in France in 2009, but ultimately failed to sell. On April 26, 2013, the French Pinault family announced that they would donate rat and rabbit heads to China without compensation, and held a donation ceremony at the National Museum of China on June 28 of the same year.