For Mr. Otis, the sale was to be a means to promote pacifist causes, although the uproar later proved to be upsetting.

Antiquorum Auctioneers insisted that the sale would go on regardless. The dispute drew comparisons to an incident at Christie’s in Paris last month in which a Chinese collector said he was the winning bidder for Qing Dynasty bronze sculptures but refused to pay, saying he was sabotaging the auction because the works had been looted in the 19th century.