NOVEL WEB
Chapter 341
The first pair of small bronze lions, as the first auction item, was a rare little gem.
The little thing with a starting price of 50,000 yuan was soon auctioned up to 300,000 yuan.
Xiao Qi did not rashly bid, just watching how others were buying first.
Generally it was just raising the paddle to call out the price, with a minimum increase amount to prevent anyone from disrupting with increases of one or ten yuan.
Each price call had to add at least 5,000, or multiples of 5,000.
This pair of small bronze lions was finally sold at a price of 480,000 yuan.
Xiao Qi turned to ask Sister Wang, who looked very serious but was actually very nice to talk to: "Is this price normal or high or low?"
Although Sister Wang was not a professional, she had worked in this auction house for more than eight years. She patiently explained: “This price is ok, it’s not outrageously high. Because generally the first item in an auction house is given as a nice little gem to have a good start. If you like it, buying it is still very worthwhile."
Next was the painting Xiao Qi thought was from the wrong time period.
The starting price of the painting was over 500,000 yuan. There were many bidders, and it was even more lively than the first pair of bronze lions. This painter was very famous, and his works were rare. But Xiao Qi found the time period did not match up, it was clearly a fake. But it was a fake from that dynasty, probably for that reason the auction house had not detected it either.
It was finally sold for 1.2 million.
There are so many rich people... For such a painting, I don't know what it can be used for, moreover it's not even real, yet over a million was spent on it.
And so, Xiao Qi watched many auction items but did not bid on any.
Sister Wang was still very patient in introducing a sentence or two. Then a young girl could not help muttering: "She's just pretending with the paddle, with these things so expensive, if she could really afford them, why come here to work part-time."
Although the voice was small, almost everyone could hear it. Xiao Qi heard it too, and just smiled indifferently.
The money was hers, she could spend it whenever she wanted.
At this time, a pair of Guanyin and Buddha carved from chicken-bone white jade came up for auction. They had skin left on, carved from the same piece of material by the Suzhou jade carving master Jiang Yunhe. Jiang Yunhe was already over 80 years old, and rarely produced work anymore, it was usually his apprentices and disciples doing the carving now.
This pair of Guanyin and Buddha were carved by Jiang Yunhe himself, with his certificate. The chicken bone white jade material was very interesting. The color where the skin was left on was like a cloak, the original stone had cracks in the middle that were cleverly carved into two pieces for the Guanyin and Buddha figures, with the fine grain integrated into the carvings on their bodies, looking like beautiful robes.
The Guanyin had an extremely beautiful appearance, just looking at her made one's heart stir.
The Buddha had a very kind smile, looking at him improved one's mood.
This pair was auctioned together, with a starting bid of 200,000 yuan.
The reserve price was very low. This material originally had cracks, it was purely thanks to the master's ingenious carving that avoided them, resulting in such beauty.
But now even to commission Jiang Yunhe to produce a piece would cost more than 200,000 yuan. This was probably the allure of auctions, making people feel there were deals to be found, in case no one bid, or the increases were small.
Because the jade butterfly pendant Yi Yun wore was made of Hetian jade, Xiao Qi was also very interested in this pair of chicken bone white jade Guanyin and Buddha. She felt she could bid on them, and give one each to her parents.
Listening to Sister Wang's introductions and analysis, she set a reserve price for herself. When buying at auctions, the biggest taboo was getting caught up in competing and overspending.
Xiao Qi thought that if this pair sold for under 500,000, she would buy them, if over 500,000 she would give up.
But as soon as it started, someone directly called out 600,000... Xiao Qi, no need to hesitate or struggle anymore.
The texture of this pair was especially moist, not pure white, but a little yellowish, the color was like mutton fat jade. With the cracks perfectly integrated into the carvings, it made them seem even more vivid. It could be said to be a peak work by Master Yunhe. Moreover at his age, whether he could produce any more works was uncertain. And this was a pair of Guanyin and Buddha, for all these reasons the price could easily shoot up to millions without any problem.
Sure enough, 600,000 did not deter later bidders.
In the end it sold for 1.88 million.
Next were some items for the charity auction tonight, donated by guests to auction off, with all kinds of strangely inflated prices. Things like used tie clips could sell for hundreds of thousands.
It was quite baffling.
But Sister Wang said although they were tie clips, the emerald inlaid on them was still very valuable, it wouldn't be too much of a loss. Although this was charity, people's money didn't just blow in with the wind, there was still corresponding value.
Xiao Qi felt it was quite an eye-opener.
The items for charity auction were different from the auction house's, more casual.
There were also cheaper ones auctioned, costing tens of thousands.
Xiao Qi saw Jin Yingying on stage helping a customer hold up an auction item, a very bright little sheep, very small, could fit in the palm of a hand. It was said to be an ancient jade from the Qing Dynasty, with a starting bid of 10,000 yuan.
With this starting bid, the owner probably wasn't certain of the time period either. Ancient jade forgeries were too common, and the process of making them was also nasty, soaking in chamber pot fluid and such.
Moreover, ancient jade from the Qing Dynasty usually wouldn't be this bright in color... it didn't look Qing Dynasty, instead it looked like a modern artifact.
Bidding at charity auctions was more casual, without fixed bid increments, because the money from charity auctions was all donated to charity organizations.
Jin Yingying held the tray with the little sheep, standing there.
For a moment the audience below was quiet, surprisingly no one even bid the reserve price. The customer who owned it was going to buy it back himself, just counting it as donating 10,000 yuan.
Xiao Qi was a little nervous. First she looked at Jin Yingying. Among the group of girls, Jin Yingying was the most familiar to Xiao Qi. Her temperament was like an unfinished Chu Yu.
Put this way, Chu Yu was still much more outstanding, going through torment every day. When Xiao Qi thought of her, it was more admiration.
Then she looked at the little sheep on the tray she was holding. Xiao Qi was born in the year of the sheep. This was also why her grandmother detested her, her grandmother always said, women born in the year of the sheep have bitter fates and bad luck, and bring misfortune to their families, making Xiao Qi feel inferior since she was little.
The host introduced this was ancient jade from the Qing Dynasty, bright red, the little crimson lamb. As Xiao Qi looked closely at it twice, how could this be from the Qing Dynasty? This little sheep was at least over 1,600 years old, around the Wei and Jin periods, from the Eastern Jin dynasty. It wasn't modern, just not sure why the surface looked so bright red.
Seeing no one bidding, Xiao Qi decisively raised her paddle.
10,000 yuan.
The host said a few more times, no one else bid, so this item belonged to Xiao Qi.
Sister Wang next to her kept silent.
She thought to herself, the young miss is indeed from a wealthy family, not bidding on so many items earlier, yet bidding on this obvious artifact to do charity!
She became even more gracious to Xiao Qi after this.
All the way until the last auction item was brought out.
Xiao Qi also went up on stage with it.
Xiao Qi had thought she could lift the bronze vessel herself with no problem at all, but was worried that if she lifted it too easily, customers might think it was a fake, giving a light feathery feel. So she kept quiet and didn't say anything more.
Seeing her arrange for Xiao Qi to go on stage last, and the young miss also obediently following along without saying anything more, Sister Wang breathed a sigh of relief. She had been worried the miss from a wealthy family might throw a tantrum and refuse to keep working in the end.