boyutpedia Chapter 694 The auction begins
Chapter 694 The auction begins
Chapter 694 The auction begins
When the time came to 5:40, everyone who was supposed to get on the bus got on, and several buses slowly drove out of the underground parking lot.
Ye Haodu was ready to take a tour of the romantic city at dusk in the car, but the bus actually only drove for five minutes before entering the underground parking lot of a building.
The bus stopped, and the staff of [Lelin Auction] had already greeted it in the underground garage.
A group of wealthy people followed the staff of [Lelin Auction] upstairs to a spacious lecture hall.
According to the number plate in his hand, Ye Hao found his position. The position was pretty good, relatively forward.
It seems that the organizers should have considered the power they represent behind them.
After all, not just anyone can evacuate the John Bull Museum.
Except for the staff at the auction house, all the buyers who came to participate in the auction were wearing masks, which made Ye Hao a little lucky. Fortunately, he had a mask at the time, otherwise the attention of the whole audience would have been on him.
It's good like this now, everyone is wearing a mask and no one knows anyone.
However, Ye Hao, who has thoughts, can clearly see the faces of everyone present through his thoughts.
Ye Hao actually found a few acquaintances here.
It may be inappropriate to say acquaintances, but Ye Hao has indeed met these people.
Among them were members of the George family that Ye Hao was familiar with.
The few remaining familiar faces all came from families that Ye Hao had visited before.
It seems that these people are also regular visitors to [Lelin Auction].
While Ye Hao was observing the situation, a mature young woman in her thirties had already walked up to the podium in front of the lecture hall.
The young woman wore gloves on her hands and stretched out her hand to press them. The whispers that had just been heard disappeared instantly.
“Ladies and gentlemen, you are welcome to come from far away to attend this auction.
The theme of this auction is art. I believe everyone has read the auction brochure and has a preliminary understanding of today's collection.
Without further ado, let’s start today’s auction directly. Today’s first auction item is an early figure sketch by the famous French painter Paul Cézanne...
The starting bid for this painting is £1000, and each increase must be no less than £100..."
After a simple opening remarks, the auctioneer went straight to the topic and started today's auction.
As soon as the auctioneer finished speaking, many people raised their numbers.
"Very well, the price of this early sketch by Paul Cézanne is now £2200... This is a rare character sketch..."
The auctioneer performed passionately on the stage. Maybe it was because the price of 2200 pounds was indeed cheaper, or maybe the auctioneer's passionate performance moved the buyers in the audience, and a few more people raised their numbers.
In the end, this early figure sketch by Paul Cézanne fetched 3500 pounds.
Perhaps because of the underground auction, the price was not as high as Ye Hao imagined.
Ye Hao found this kind of auction boring.
In his previous life, he read about other people's auctions in novels, and the prices were often tens of millions or hundreds of millions. For such a few thousand pounds, Ye Hao felt like he was playing house.
The auctions that followed were similar, with prices ranging from several thousand to tens of thousands of pounds.
The most expensive oil painting among them sold for 35 pounds, which was the highest price Ye Hao saw tonight.
Ye Hao had seen the auction album before and knew that the highlight was next.
The latter items are somewhat famous here in Europa, and they are basically items that have been stolen in recent years.
There are many precious diamonds and gems among them, and there is even a Patek Philippe watch from half a century ago.
Ye Hao has no interest in this kind of antique watch. What is needed for this kind of thing is a brand and feelings, and Ye Hao happens to not value either of them.
In the end, this Patek Philippe watch from more than half a century ago only sold for 18 pounds, which was not as good as the previous oil painting.
As for the price of diamonds, it is even lower. It may be that these wealthy families also know that diamonds are a scam and are not willing to be taken advantage of. The final transaction price is very low.
Although the diamonds did not fetch high prices, the prices of several gemstones were quite high. The most expensive sapphire fetched a sky-high price of 65 pounds.
At this time, Ye Hao finally understood how much Europeans like gems.
His mind entered the space and looking at the various gems collected in Maple Leaf Country, Ye Hao felt that he could become the richest man in the world just by relying on these gems.
"Ladies and gentlemen, here are the snacks before dinner. The next collection is tonight's main meal. I believe there are many friends here here just for it. Without further ado, please invite us tonight. The finale of the auction is here..."
Time passed quickly, and it was time for tonight's finale. At this time, Ye Hao finally cheered up.
Not only Ye Hao, but everyone in the entire lecture hall cheered up at this time, especially the buyers sitting in the first few rows.
These people had never raised a sign since the beginning of the auction. Ye Hao didn't believe that these people would be so idle and come here without buying anything, just to experience the atmosphere of the auction house.
"What you are seeing now is a painting from the "Water Lilies" series by French Impressionist painter Claude Monet...
The painting was previously collected in the John Bull Museum. Just last year, the John Bull Museum suffered the largest theft in its history, and this painting was one of the stolen paintings...
I believe many people want to know the detailed information of the bidder, but please don’t embarrass us [Lelin Auction]. Everyone knows the rules of [Lelin Auction]...
I believe I don’t need to introduce this painting. Everyone must know it better than I do. Without further ado, we will start bidding directly. The starting price is 100000 pounds, and each increase in price must not be less than 1000 pounds..."
The moment this painting came out, Ye Hao noticed that the breathing of several people around him became rapid.
As soon as the auctioneer finished speaking, one-third of the people in the audience raised their numbers.
"150000 pounds."
"155000 pounds."
......
"280000 pounds."
......
"680000 pounds."
The price soared until a bid of £700000 was reached.
However, this is still not the final transaction price.
The people in the back row have basically withdrawn from bidding, and now only the three people sitting in the front two rows are bidding.
One of these three people, Ye Hao, also knew him as a member of the George family.
Looking at the three people driving, the final transaction price must be a sky-high price.
"£800000, is it any higher?"
The auctioneer enthusiastically reported the current price.
"Okay, buyer No. 810000 bids pounds. Is there any higher price?"