"There are no two officers in the world who are as familiar with cavalry as Mira and as familiar with artillery as Drouot; Drouot is a real man... kind and pious, his character, his integrity and His forthrightness was admired even in the republic's most difficult times." - Napoleon I
The name of this "real man" did not disappear with his death. It was left on a street in the 9th arrondissement of Paris.
When the Association of Auction Appraisers, which had never had a fixed auction venue, took notice of this place, the oldest and most powerful auction house in French history was born on this street. 【1】
Paris, the capital of the 19th century, gathered a large number of art dealers, galleries, art patrons, collectors and first-class art creators.
Because auction houses have intensive financial circulation and directly face the public, whether art works are widely recognized is directly reflected in their prices, and the criteria for judging are no longer limited to academic stereotypes.
For the development of French art in the 19th century, the core Drouot auction house made its own contribution with one auction after another. On the one hand, it paid tribute to the famous masters, and on the other hand, it constantly pioneered new trends.
The most famous painters in France in the 19th century, without exception, showed their incredible imagination to the world in Drouot.
This auction, or rather an auction that brings together large and small auctions, focuses on the remaining paintings by Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres, a representative figure of neoclassicism.
They are kept by the Inglis Studio, and on November 8, a limited viewing of the paintings was held in cooperation with the Drouot auction house.
Kawei's goal was naturally not the great painter, but a smaller auction that took advantage of the flow of the painter's works.
Just like the big painters, this small auction also has a related theme, catalog and follow-up auction appraiser. The appraiser only interacts with the seller and cannot see Kawei before the auction. Even the catalog is only placed at the exhibition and cannot be taken out privately in principle.
"I spent some time on it," said Silang. "This includes some artworks from the seller's private collection, but most of them are collections he brought back from the East."
Kawei and Shanwang remained silent the entire time.
From the moment they met Si Lang, the two of them only stared at the photos in the catalog, not even touching the coffee in front of them. The most they could say back to him was "hmm" or "oh" to show that they were still listening, but in fact the two of them were suffering from a huge shock in their hearts.
After this shock, like being robbed at home, was followed by another, thicker and longer feeling of suffocation.
Silang has worked in the bank for so long, and he can still see some changes in the atmosphere.
Shanwang is a yellow race, and when he sees this, he may feel angry out of some trivial patriotic sentiments. Kawei, a white-skinned person, should feel proud and excited even if he is not French. But the expressions of the two were extremely similar, and in the end he could only classify this expression as a special reaction produced by Eastern collectibles.
Silang wanted to break the silence and started talking about the auction exhibition, hoping to arouse their interest:
"This is the largest auction event in two years. The champagne on the table is overflowing like a river, and caviar is being requested like bread crumbs. There are also socialites who want to expand their contacts, wearing dozens of Jewels worth tens of thousands or even millions of francs..."
Kawei's expression softened a bit, but he still wasn't interested in any of this: "Is the first round of exhibitions with limited visits over?"
"Yes, the first round of limited exhibitions and public exhibitions are over." Silang explained, "This is nothing, because the two-week preview has just begun, and there will be several public exhibitions, such as one tomorrow. There will be an exhibition of illustrations. There will be etchings and lithographs to follow. The real auction will not begin until the exhibition is over."
"It's still so long."
"That's just the time for Ingres's paintings." Slang explained, "Small exhibitions don't last that long, there are only two in total. One on the 8th and 9th, and the second one tomorrow and the day after tomorrow with Ingres's paintings. If you really think about it, the day after tomorrow is the last day."
Kawei calculated it carefully against his working hours: "When can the auction start?"
"The 15th."
"It's pretty fast."
"Originally, this was not the rhythm." Silang stirred the freshly delivered coffee with a small spoon and said, "In fact, ordinary auction items only need to be exhibited for one round, but considering that the Empress of Austria is here, the seller will cooperate with the auction We made the decision to postpone together.”
"The seller...is his name Avery Jean?" Kawei looked at the character introduction in the auction catalog and said, "It turns out to be a 'noble' Mr. Marquis."
Marquis Avery Jean was the commander of the French garrison at Dagukou six years ago. He was promoted to brigadier general after returning to China. At the same time, the warehouse in his house also contained many good things plundered.
This enemy in the eyes of Carvey and Good Hope is a well-known war hero in France. No matter how bad he is, he should be a courageous explorer in East Asia. Even the preface to the catalog is full of praise for him:
[Science adds smart minds to France, art makes French life better, Brigadier General Avery Jean is responsible for opening up the frontier for France, and these collections are a gift from God for his contribution. ]
Kawei snorted, flipped back to the exhibit catalog, and asked, "Can I go to the limited exhibition tomorrow?"
"Of course you can. With Dr. Kawei's current reputation, you only need to spend a small amount of money to get in." Silang was already prepared and took out a card. "This is an invitation letter from Drouot Auction House. You can get it by showing it tomorrow." You can go in and out at will with it.”
"Thank you." Kawei thanked him, but his expression was still ugly and his tone was not much better, "Ten o'clock tomorrow?"
"right."
Silang nodded, suddenly thought of something, and asked: "By the way, how much does Dr. Kawei want me to prepare for you?"
Speaking of money, Kawei's expression finally returned to normal, because money is his biggest reliance now besides surgical skills.
From the dividends from pharmaceutical companies, the dividends earned by pharmaceutical companies and equipment factories from the war, to the tickets to the surgical theater, plus the original salary paid by the Military Medical Department and the Municipal General Hospital, he has accumulated a large amount of wealth in Vienna.
On weekdays, Kawi's life is extremely monotonous, with basically no expenses, just enough to support himself.
The only place where a lot of money was spent was on the purchase of laboratory supplies and the purchase of the patent for methylene blue. But these two things can be given back to pharmaceutical manufacturers, which is actually more of an upfront investment.
By now he had more than a million crowns in his Vienna bank account.
With annual income reaching this level, only big business entrepreneurs are eligible to compete. After doing the calculation, Laszlo couldn't help but sigh that it was much more difficult for him to start from scratch than it was for Kavi.
And those government officials who look glamorous only earn 50,000 to 60,000 kroner in a year.
The most typical one is Edward, who serves as ambassador to Vienna with an annual income of 110,000 francs (crown to franc = 1:2). Counting the free housing, daily necessities, tableware and private carriage, there is no way to compare with Kawei.
Now the other party asked about money, and Kavi needed to answer carefully.
The amount you prepare should not be too large, otherwise the bank may not be willing to provide it, and it can easily cause unnecessary trouble. The amount prepared should not be too small. If it is less, there will be various concerns at the auction and the purpose will not be achieved.
Kawei really couldn't come up with an appropriate number for a while. The only thing he could refer to was the various reference prices in the auction catalogue.
The auction catalog not only contains photos and brief introductions of various exhibits, but also the auction's reserve price and the "appropriate" price estimated by the appraiser.
"What does this reference price mean?" Kavey asked, pointing to a bronze snake ornament [2]. "Does it mean that the appraiser thinks the dragon is worth 450 francs?"
"This is a dragon, Doctor Kawei." Shan Wang on the side reminded kindly, "It is a creature in Chinese myths and legends, symbolizing imperial power, dignity and auspiciousness. This copper dragon is made of one body, with beards, claws, scales, The Kakuzu are very detailed and lifelike, and they are definitely treasures.”
"Um..." Kawei was stunned for a moment, then smiled, "Mr. Shanwang is indeed as knowledgeable and talented as Professor Hugill said, but as my advisor, you should speak more reservedly, so as to save me some trouble." money."
"I'm sorry Dr. Carvey, I'm just out of respect for the country's artwork."
Silang has no interest in whether this thing is a dragon or a snake: "The reference price Dr. Kawei asked just now is actually the reference price made by the appraiser by referring to the prices of similar items over the years and the suggestions given by the appraiser. As for the seller’s reserve price, it is generally known only during the official auction. This time, Marquis Avery Jean even wrote the amount in the envelope, which is very mysterious.”
"So that's it..."
Kawei admitted that he didn’t take the reference price too seriously at first, thinking he was just writing it down casually. When it came to the auction, the price would definitely be raised in various ways. But after asking Silang, Kawei found out that this was really a serious reference price.
A bronze dragon, reference price 475 francs;
A jade screen, reference price is 3,500 francs; [3]
A gilt chime clock with a reference price of 2,700 francs; [4]
A jade seal button, reference price is 4,200 francs; [5]
A Jade Girl pen holder, reference price is 280 francs; [6]
A set of Qing Dynasty soldier clothes, weapons and accessories, reference price is 400 francs [7]...
The reference price of these items is almost none exceeding 5,000 francs, and there are even too many items that have not even touched the threshold of 1,000 francs. To sum it up briefly, even if all preparations are made with the amount doubled from the reference price, Kawei only needs 200,000 francs, which is equivalent to 100,000 kroner.
However, directly saying that he wanted 200,000 yuan was too abrupt. Kawei thought about it for a while and found an excuse: "This blue lion is nice. The color looks very comfortable."
At this time, Shanwang, who had just corrected Kawei, spoke again: "Doctor Kawei, this is a unicorn, not a lion. The blue layer on the outside is enamel, a glaze coloring process, and the process is very complicated and elegant."
Kawi asked: "kirin?"【8】
"It is a mythical beast in Chinese mythology."
"It does look a little different from a lion..."
Kawei touched the picture with his fingers. The more he looked at it, the more he liked it. He said, "This thing is really beautiful. The reference price is more than 10,000 francs. It must be the most valuable thing here. If it is auctioned by then, the price will definitely be very high." ...Well, Mr. Slan, how about your bank preparing 200,000 francs for me first?"
Silang is actually a little mentally prepared, but the price has been fluctuating around 100,000, and this 100,000 is the result of the sum of the reference prices.
Who would have thought that Kawei would directly double the amount of money for insurance purposes, which made Slang shocked when he heard this: "So much?"
"What? Isn't it possible?" Kawei said, "With my surgical job in Vienna, my annual income has already exceeded this figure."
"No, that's not what I meant. Such a big Paris bank can still get a mere 200,000 francs." Silang took two sips of coffee and continued, "It's just that the amount is large, and the so-called interest-free loan will also change." It’s going to be troublesome.”
"It doesn't matter, as long as you are willing to grant a loan in these two days, and everything else will follow your bank's rules." Kawei was very happy and directly set the amount.
"OK."
"See you tomorrow."
The limited exhibition on the second day was far less exaggerated than what Silang said. It seemed deserted compared to the surgical theater, and completely incomparable to the exhibition of the great painter next door. Kawei still had good hopes and hurriedly looked at most of the exhibits before returning to the main hospital.
After checking the mother who underwent yesterday's surgery, he received another woman with placenta previa, who is expected to undergo surgery when the baby is mature in a week.
That night, Cavett made a quick trip to Shebasto's mansion to change the police chief's medicine.
Mr. Director's scalp incision inevitably showed redness and swelling, but there was not much leakage under the skin, and everything was still controllable. Even if the infection develops further, Kawei will feel more at ease than he has in the past two days, because his team will arrive soon.
Another day passed, at 9 o'clock in the evening on November 14, an inconspicuous-looking short train stopped at the Paris train station.
Unlike when Carvey first arrived in Paris, there was a queue at the train station to warmly welcome visitors. The most eye-catching one among them is the third wife of France, Eugenie, the Queen of France, who is at the forefront.
This century-long meeting was different from any meeting between emperors and commanders. It was the moment when two stunningly beautiful female queens met in the 19th century. It was a collision between cheerfulness, stability and gloomy freedom.
It's a pity that the meeting completely freed them from the shackles of men, but they couldn't get rid of the politics imposed on them by men and the surrounding environment. The relationship between France and Austria is bound to change because of the meeting between the two, and the situation in Europe will also change...
Standing at such a time point, Kawei, who was standing in the front row of the welcome queue, didn't care at all. What he cared more about were the other people walking behind the Queen's escort, the assistants he had been thinking about.
