"This volume comes from Dunhuang, China. There are six volumes in total. It was provided by the Stein family. We can guarantee its true surname. It is a famous work of Chinese Taoism. According to research, these six volumes of scriptures are likely to have been lost in China.
…”
After telling the origin of "Kaiyuan Taoist Canon", Henry said: "The starting price of these six volumes of Taoist scriptures is 320,000 Hong Kong dollars, and the price will be increased by 10,000 Hong Kong dollars each time. Interested friends can start bidding!"
To be honest, Henry has really put a lot of effort into the Chinese art pieces in this auction. He can even accurately tell the age and background of each cultural relic, which is something even many domestic auctioneers cannot do.
.
After hearing Henry's words, Ye Tian moved his right hand and wanted to lift the sign on his lap, but before he could raise his hand, he was held down by Ye Dongping who was sitting next to him.
Ye Tian turned his face in confusion and whispered: "Dad, what are you doing? I'm just here to take pictures of this object."
"Nonsense, I still don't know what you're here for?"
Ye Dongping glared at his son angrily and said, "You have to bargain when buying anything. Why are you in such a hurry? It's not too late for you to take action when it's about to fail!"
Ye Dongping has been buying and selling antiques for more than ten years. He often goes to auction houses and has rich experience in dealing with them.
Ye Dongping knows that when the auction starts, you must not show that you are determined to win the item, otherwise the auctioneer will have many ways to take out more money from your pocket.
Ye Tian is also a smart person. When his father said this, he immediately understood. At that moment, the old god was sitting there. Although he was not short of money, he was not willing to be killed by this foreigner.
"Ye Tian?"
Tang Wenyuan, who was sitting on Ye Tian's left hand side, touched him lightly with his elbow. The protagonist of today's auction is Ye Tian, and Tang Wenyuan didn't want to overstep his bounds.
"Wait..." Ye Tian shook his head imperceptibly. Although he had lost all his cultivation, his state of mind had increased a lot, and his calming skills were far beyond compare.
"Six volumes are estimated to cost 320,000 yuan. Isn't this a bit too expensive?"
"That's right. One of Zhang Daqian's banners only sells for 80,000 yuan. How can these volumes of ancient scriptures be worth so much?"
After Henry reported the price of 320,000 Hong Kong dollars, there was a moment of silence in the auction house, and some people who were originally interested in calligraphy, painting or ancient scriptures began to make noises.
You know, in 2000, although the art market was becoming more and more popular, compared with later generations, the price of cultural relics such as calligraphy and painting was not very high. Many high-quality calligraphy and paintings that appeared in auction houses only cost tens to hundreds of thousands.
Around Hong Kong dollars.
Collectibles such as old books and ancient scrolls are relatively rare. There are very few collectors. In some past auctions, there was a high chance of them not being sold.
In a normal auction, based on the condition of these six volumes of ancient scriptures, the price that can usually be given is about 50,000 to 80,000 Hong Kong dollars, with a maximum of no more than 100,000 Hong Kong dollars.
However, Henry's starting price reached 320,000, which was several times higher than the normal market price. This made the buyers who were originally interested in these volumes of classics suddenly became dissatisfied.
"You don't understand this. Mr. Tang has been taking pictures of this kind of objects everywhere recently. I'm afraid Christie's has already asked about it, right?"
"Let me tell you, no wonder the Christie's lion opened its mouth and turned out to be targeting Mr. Tang?"
"Hey, you said Mr. Tang is so good, why are you here to steal our piece? The collection of ancient scrolls is not very popular."
During this period, Tang Wenyuan swept through the ancient scrolls and Taoist scriptures in various auction houses, attracting the attention of many people. Now that the price of 320,000 is connected with Tang Wenyuan, naturally some people understand it.
On the one hand, Tang Wenyuan didn't say anything, and on the other hand, the buyers who originally wanted to buy thought the price was too high, so more than a minute had passed since Henry set the lowest price, and the scene had completely cooled down.
Seeing the silence in the venue, Henry's heart suddenly lifted, and his eyes glanced at Tang Wenyuan intentionally or unintentionally.
Those people in the audience made a good analysis. Some time ago, Tang Wenyuan searched for these ancient scriptures everywhere, and sometimes the prices he offered were even a little irrational. He could often get three to five hundred yuan for something worth three to five hundred thousand.
Ten thousand.
A person with Tang Wenyuan's status, even if he only participated in one auction, would be recorded on Christie's key client list. What's more, he has been making frequent moves recently and has long been noticed by Henry.
So when arranging the lots and order, Henry overcame all opinions and put these six volumes of scriptures at the front. He believed that with Tang Wenyuan's recent performance and his own operation, he would be able to fetch a sky-high price.
What Henry didn't expect was that Tang Wenyuan in the audience had no intention of raising a sign.
For others, this price did not satisfy them, so even Henry was a little panicked. If no one made an offer for a minute, it was very likely that the lot would not be sold.
"Gentlemen and ladies, the reason why these six volumes of ancient books have such a high minimum auction price is because they are all out-of-print classics. I can guarantee that there will never be another volume like them in the world. Three hundred and twenty thousand
The price in Hong Kong dollars is indeed worth the money!”
Although Henry was trying his best to promote these six volumes of Taoist scriptures, it was obvious that everyone in the audience did not buy it. As for Tang Wenyuan, he had no intention of raising a sign at all.
Henry was really anxious this time. Nearly three minutes had passed. If no one raised his placard, he would announce that the auction had failed, and this would become a stain on his career as an auctioneer.
"[Damn], these Chinese people are really old foxes!"
Of course, this was something Henry could never stand. He glanced at the person sitting in the corner of the fourth row, and tapped the auction table three times with his right little finger intentionally or unintentionally.
"Three hundred and twenty thousand Hong Kong dollars, I want it!"
As soon as Henry made this move, the man raised the number plate in his hand, causing everyone in the venue to look at him.
"Who is this person?"
"I haven't seen it before. Maybe it's from the mainland?"
"If you pay 320,000 yuan for this object, do you really think he is Mr. Tang?"
The man's move of raising the placard caused ridicule in the audience. In terms of market value, these volumes of scripture were not worth that much. This was not a successful transaction.
"Okay, this gentleman bids 320,000 yuan. If no one else bids, these six volumes of scripture will become this gentleman's auction item!"
After the man called out the price, Henry's face on the stage was filled with joy, but if you were careful, you could still see a hint of panic in his eyes.
This person was actually a trustee arranged by Henry. The role of a trustee was originally used to drive up the price. However, no one bid on this lot, so Henry also took a gamble.
Ye Dongping also saw this and whispered in his son's ear: "Ye Tian, that person is probably a stooge."
"Dad, come on, he's just a bastard, I admit it!"
Ye Tian gave a bitter smile. Those six volumes of Taoist scriptures were too important to him. If there really was a method for refining the gods and returning to the void, let alone 320,000 Hong Kong dollars, it would be 320 million.
Won't blink an eye.
In fact, Ye Tian had sensed Henry's heartbeat and eyes before, but he really couldn't afford the gamble and would rather spend more money to get this thing in his pocket.
"Three hundred and thirty thousand Hong Kong dollars!"
When the stage shouted "320,000 for the first time", Ye Tian finally raised the number plate. He was holding Song Weilan's sign, which showed the number one.
"Okay, this gentleman is offering 330,000 Hong Kong dollars. It seems that there are still friends who can realize the preciousness of these six volumes of scripture. Is there anyone who wants to bid 330,000 Hong Kong dollars?"
Seeing that it was a young man holding the sign instead of Tang Wenyuan, Henry on the stage couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, but when he saw the number on the sign again, his eyes couldn't help but glance at Song Weilan.
Although he had made a lot of preparations in advance, Henry never understood why Song Weilan, who had always only participated in some charity auctions, suddenly decided to participate in this auction.
Now he seemed to understand something in his heart, maybe it was because of this young man.
Thinking of this, Henry's eyes lit up, and the little finger of his right hand tapped the corner of the auction table five times in a row.
"I'll pay you 380,000 Hong Kong dollars!" The person who held up the sign just now quoted a new price and directly added 50,000 Hong Kong dollars.
As a successful auctioneer, Henry's psychological quality is undoubtedly excellent. After almost losing the auction, he actually dared to ask the agent to increase the price.
"Fifty thousand Hong Kong dollars." Ye Tian raised his hand and directly increased the price by 120,000. He was not a businessman, so he just felt that the money was worth it.
"This gentleman bids 500,000 Hong Kong dollars. Will the friend just now still bid?"
Henry knew that he had made the right bet. Although he was ecstatic in his heart, his face remained calm. The ring finger of his right hand quietly tapped the table again.
"I like to study Taoist culture very much, and I am willing to pay 1 million!" After receiving Henry's secret signal, the man suddenly doubled the price. In fact, what he said was all explained in advance.
"Damn it, are you really treating me like a kid?"
After seeing the man's actions, Ye Tianzhen was really annoyed. Others could not see Henry's movements, but under the cover of his spiritual mind, the small movements of Henry's right fingers did not escape his induction.
Ye Tian did not hold up the placard this time, but laughed, looked at Henry on the stage and said, "Mr. Henry, if I stop bidding, who will pay for this million?"
"Sir, please stop bidding. Of course, this lot belongs to that gentleman." After hearing Ye Tian's words, Henry broke into a cold sweat.
