Customs officers in Beijing have stopped 50 Thangka religious paintings and other cultural relics from being smuggled abroad through air express.

Sources with customs said half of the Thangka pieces were made before 1959, and are classified by experts as precious cultural relics forbidden from export.

Such a large seizure has never occurred before, authorities said.

Thangka is a kind of scroll painting mounted on colourful satin, and is symbolic of Buddhism in the teaching of Tibetan Buddhism.

The Thangka pieces seized this month were destined for the United States, officials indicated. The rest were likely headed to Japan, including sycee (silver ingots), a wooden ruler, a wooden ladle and a copper spoon.

All were entrusted to express-delivery companies in the name of individuals who authorities say planned to smuggle the objects abroad by air.

Zhao, a customs officer who chose only to give his surname, was quoted as saying the Thangka scrolls were stored in a paper box when seized.

They were 1-metre wide, and between 1.2-1.5 metres long, and quite colourful, Zhao said.

To make Thangka, one needs a type of paint made from opaque minerals and plants. With some animal tissue and cattle bile added, the special paint can enable colours to remain vivid for thousands of years.

The smuggling case is still being investigated.

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