In the evening, Xiao Ran held the statue of Aphrodite and knocked on Elaine's door.
In order to hide it from others, he put the statue in a shoe box to prevent it from being seen by others and attracting curious or coveted eyes.
As for Elaine, he was relatively relieved and had to ask this beauty for help.
The door opened, and Elaine, wearing a bohemian-style gauze dress, appeared inside.
The moment he saw this beauty, the sexy picture he had seen before quickly appeared in Xiao Ran's mind.
He couldn't help but blush when he thought of that bloody picture of a beautiful woman taking a bath.
Xiao Ran shook his head gently and quickly drove some unbearable thoughts out of his mind.
"Good evening, Elaine, are you free now?"
"I have something to ask you for help, is it okay?"
Elaine looked at him in surprise, then nodded.
"I'm free now, Sean, come in and talk about anything."
With that said, she invited Xiao Ran into the apartment.
After entering the living room and sitting down, Xiao Ran put the shoe box in his hand on the coffee table and then got to the point.
"Elaine, I once heard you say that your parents worked at the Louvre and your father was in the Sculpture Art Department."
"If possible, can you contact them? I would like to ask them to help identify a sculpture."
"Of course, I will pay the appraisal fee according to industry regulations."
Elaine was stunned for a moment, and then said curiously:
"You have a sculpture that needs appraisal? Can you let me admire it?"
"I can contact my parents and ask them to help with the appraisal. You can discuss the appraisal fee."
Xiao Ran nodded immediately.
"Of course, no problem. Just take a look at this sculpture first."
"Maybe you can identify its origin and value, so you don't need to trouble your parents."
With that said, Xiao Ran opened the shoe box and took out the statue of Aphrodite inside.
The moment she saw this statue of the goddess of beauty, Elaine was stunned.
Immediately afterwards, a look of surprise and a bit of intoxication appeared on her face.
"This is a statue of Aphrodite, the ancient Greek goddess of love and beauty. It's so beautiful!"
"Sean, can you tell me how you got this marble sculpture?"
"If I'm not mistaken, this should be a top-notch piece of art."
Because her parents work at the Louvre, Elaine has been able to enter and leave the Louvre freely since she was a child, and has seen countless top-notch antiques, cultural relics and works of art.
Coupled with the careful teaching of her parents, her appreciation level is also very high under the influence of her ears and eyes.
The moment she saw this beautiful sculpture, she had actually come to a conclusion.
This should be a top-notch work of art, but I don’t know which sculpture master it is.
Hearing her words, Xiao Ran couldn't help but smile proudly.
Then, he began to introduce the situation.
"Well, today I attended a lost luggage auction at the airport and took a picture of an ordinary plaster statue of Venus."
"When I was sorting things out just now, I accidentally broke the statue of Venus, and found this statue of Aphrodite."
"The statue of Aphrodite is hidden in that plaster statue. The ancient Greek goddess of beauty is hidden in the body of the ancient Roman goddess of beauty. It's very interesting!"
"ah!"
Elaine exclaimed and was stunned.
After a while, she woke up.
"It's incredible. There is such a thing?"
"Sean, you are so lucky. Why can't I get such a good thing?"
Xiao Ran shrugged his shoulders proudly.
"I find it unbelievable, but it really happened. It couldn't be more real!"
Next, Elaine came closer and began to examine the sculpture carefully.
When she picked up the sculpture and saw the two French letters 'EB' engraved on the bottom of the sculpture, she was suddenly stunned.
"Oh my God! Is this the work of Budel, the master of modern sculpture art?"
Elaine exclaimed, her face filled with ecstasy.
The same goes for Xiao Ran. Although he doesn't know much about Western sculpture, he also knows Budel's name.
This man is one of the three most famous masters of modern European sculpture. He is as famous as Rodin, the famous sculptor, and one of Rodin's two most outstanding students.
If this sculpture of the goddess of beauty is really the work of Budel, it is definitely a top-notch work of art.
Before Xiao Ran could respond, Elaine had already picked up the phone.
"Sean, I'll call my parents right away. They will definitely recognize the origin and value of this beautiful sculpture."
With that said, she started to make a call.
In a moment, the call was connected.
Elaine copied French and introduced the situation excitedly.
It's a pity that Xiao Ran can't understand French, but he can hear the exclamation coming from the phone, and the voice is full of surprise.
After quickly introducing the situation, Elaine immediately turned to look at Xiao Ran.
"Sean, Pierre wants to start a video to identify this beauty sculpture. Are you willing?"
"He said it was probably the beloved object of the master sculptor Budel. It had been lost for nearly a hundred years and he never expected it to appear in Los Angeles."
There is no reason why Xiao Ran wouldn't want to do such a good thing.
"Of course, I would like to meet your father."
"Okay, I'll start the video now"
Elaine nodded and responded, then started operating on her phone.
A moment later, a white man in his fifties appeared on the phone screen. He had an elegant demeanor and looked like a scholar.
Immediately afterwards, Elaine gave an introduction to both parties.
This is Elaine's father, Pierre, an antique art appraisal expert from the Sculpture Art Department of the Louvre in France.
After getting to know each other, Elaine pointed the camera of her mobile phone at the sculpture of the goddess of beauty placed on the coffee table.
The moment he saw this sculpture, Pierre was stunned for a moment, and then exclaimed with excitement.
"There is no doubt that this is the sculpture of the goddess of beauty Aphrodite created by Boudel. It is guaranteed to be genuine!"
"This sculpture of the Goddess of Beauty was created in the early twentieth century, when Boudel had just left Rodin and embarked on his own artistic journey, becoming the top sculptor!"
"The reason why I can recognize this sculpture of the Goddess of Beauty is because it is Budel's favorite thing. It has been placed in his study for a long time and has also appeared in many documents."
Hearing this, Xiao Ran clenched his fist excitedly, but restrained the urge to cheer.
Since it is a well-documented top-notch work of art and the beloved object of a top-level sculptor, the value of this beautiful sculpture must be astonishing.
If it were put up for public auction, it would likely fetch a staggeringly high price.
In that case, you can become rich overnight, and you may even achieve financial freedom early.
Thinking of this, Xiao Ran felt extremely happy.
During the video call, Pierre was still introducing this beautiful sculpture with excitement.
"The stone used in this sculpture is the top-grade Greek Paros marble. It comes from a damaged ancient Greek sculpture. It has long since disappeared and cannot be faked at all."
"In 1929, after Budel's death, this sculpture of the God of Beauty also mysteriously disappeared. There is even a legend that Budel took this beloved sculpture of the God of Beauty into the coffin."
"But who would have thought that this sculpture would actually appear in Los Angeles and be hidden inside an ordinary Venus statue? It's incredible!"
"Sean, you are such a lucky guy. I wonder if you can let me see a picture or video of that Venus statue?"
Xiao Ran nodded immediately.
"Of course, no problem, Pierre"
"Not only do I have pictures of the Venus statue, but I also have videos taken during the auction, as well as videos of when I accidentally discovered this sculpture of the goddess of beauty."
Afterwards, Xiao Ran retrieved the relevant pictures and videos and sent them all to Pierre.
He had prepared these things a long time ago and edited them in great detail without revealing his secrets.
In this way, there were two more witnesses to the accidental discovery of this beautiful sculpture.
Even if someone traces it later, it can only be attributed to his own luck and will not think of other aspects.
After receiving the relevant pictures and videos, Pierre immediately started checking them out.
It can be seen from the video that the antique art appraisal expert became more and more excited as he watched, and even started dancing.
In just five or six minutes, he had completed the identification.
No need to ask about the result!
"Sean, I can be very sure that this is indeed the most beloved sculpture of the God of Beauty by the master of sculpture art Budel, and it is a top-notch work of art."
"I have to say, your luck is so incredible. It's incredible that you found such a top-notch piece of art!"
"I would like to ask, do you plan to collect this sculpture of the Goddess of Beauty yourself, or are you planning to sell it? If it is sold, the Louvre can consider acquiring it."
"ah!"
Xiao Ran exclaimed and couldn't help being stunned.
In the blink of an eye, he woke up.
However, he answered the question incorrectly.
"Pierre, I would like to ask, if this sculpture of the goddess of beauty is auctioned, what price will it fetch? How much is it worth?"
This time it was Pierre's turn to be stunned. He didn't expect Xiao Ran to be so direct.
After thinking for a moment, he gave the answer.
"Based on the current market conditions and the fact that this is the beloved object of the sculptor Budel, its value should be around 10 million US dollars."
"It's a pity that it is too small. If it were a large sculpture, it would be priceless!"
Before he finished speaking, a burst of moving music suddenly sounded on the scene.
Xiao Ran's cell phone rang!
