Lin Yi didn't understand why Begonia didn't answer the phone, did something happen to her? Are you reluctant to participate in the auction with yourself? Is there any urgent matter temporarily, such as repairing the TV for the elderly and repairing the liquefied gas stove?

Lin Yi even helped Haitang find a lot of reasons for not answering the phone, and comforted herself by saying that she must have been very busy and didn't hear it. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

But ten minutes later, when Lin Yi called again, there was still no answer to the phone.

I called again, but the phone stopped.

Lin Yi was speechless.

Looking at the large number of things in his hand, Lin Yi was a little overwhelmed, he originally only focused on shopping for old books, and for the first time, he felt that life was such a failure.

What to do, look at the time, the New Century Auction is almost about to start, to go or not?

……

November 8, 2011.

Pacific Place, Hong Kong, New Century Auction Company --- a large-scale art auction, and the auction of traditional Chinese paintings and calligraphy is about to open.

At the entrance of the New Century Auction Company, there was a lot of traffic and guests.

At the entrance of the auction company, a huge auction poster is displayed---

The auction will feature a series of works by traditional Chinese masters of painting and calligraphy, including masterpieces by Zhang Daqian, Fu Baoshi, Xu Beihong, Qi Baishi, Lin Fengmian and Wu Guanzhong. The focus of this autumn auction will continue to be on a number of important private collections, such as the Dongxixuan Collection in Belgium, the Fengwentang Collection of Chinese paintings and calligraphy, and other private collections from Asia, the Americas, and Europe.

In addition, this auction will also grandly launch the long-lost calligraphy master of the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, the peerless treasures of Wang Duo, the "magic pen", --- send Tang Ruowang's poem manuscript brocade silk handscroll. This manuscript of the poem was stolen and lost after it was completed, and it was recorded in the works of calligrapher Wang Duo, and now the precious manuscript of the poem has reappeared in the world, which will surely rewrite that mysterious history of calligraphy. Here, I solemnly declare that this poem will be auctioned today without a reserve price, so stay tuned.

Below the poster---

Auction unit: Hong Kong New Century Auction Company.

Supported by: Christie's, Sotheby's, Singapore International Auction House.

Auction time: November 8, 2011, 10 a.m.

Auction location: Pacific Place, Hong Kong, the main venue of New Century Auctions.

Auction Scope: Traditional Chinese Calligraphy and Painting.

……

The giant poster makes a hula and hula sound in the wind, and people can see it from afar.

At the entrance of the New Century Auction Company, there were already many people gathered at this time, most of these people were well-dressed and well-behaved, the men were either wearing Italian tailor-made private suits, or they were wearing high-end suits that represented power and status, and the ladies were almost like the models on the catwalk at Milan Fashion Week, almost all dressed in luxury and flamboyance, gold and silver jewelry, and a string of diamond necklaces around their necks, which were enough to dazzle your eyes.

For many people, these people are untouchable, and they can only be seen on TV, newspapers, and media, and the occasions they go in and out of are places that many ordinary people cannot reach in a lifetime.

Hong Kong, a capitalist money society, is full of strict classes, and outside the upper class, all are scum.

How can the scum have the right to be here?

However, there seems to be a surprise.

When Lin Yi appeared at the main venue of the auction with a shopping bag in both hands, the doorman in charge of checking the invitation even wondered if he had gone to the wrong place.

Everyone else also looked at Lin Yi curiously, guessing which tycoon's wife's little follower was this, why was she so short-sighted, just waiting outside, and rashly wanted to come in.

But when Lin Yi took out the invitation, the strange gaze disappeared, replaced by weirdness and doubt.

The doorman looked a little embarrassed, apologized to Lin Yi very earnestly, and then invited him in.

Lin Yi glanced around, he was originally listless, but he was suddenly stimulated by the questioning eyes of the well-dressed people around him---

Is this the so-called upper class, when you step further inside, these classes that were previously out of reach are within reach.

……

The main venue of the New Century Auction.

If you don't see it with your own eyes, you won't believe it, this is an auction, not a grand private party.

In the relaxation area, there are various buffet stations, wines, drinks, desserts, and delicacies.

In the middle of the relaxation area is a huge champagne tower, which is illuminated by the crystal chandeliers in the hall.

As soon as Lin Yi entered, he was stopped by the waiter next to him, and then very politely handed him a specially customized "Art Auction Catalogue" for the auction.

This kind of auction catalogue is particularly exquisite, and when Lin Yi sees it, he can't help but light up. After opening it and looking through it carefully, the catalogue is basically printed on coated paper, including the name, pictures, specifications, and valuation of the auction artworks. There are several main parts---

1. Important Private Collections in Asia

Xu Beihong

Drinking Horses

Frame on colored paper

72.8x112cm(285/8x441/8in)

Painted in 1934

HK$18,000,000-22,000,000

2. Important private collections

Zhang Daqian

"Mountain Temple Hanging Spring"

Frame on colored paper

Painted in 1973

HK$15,000,000-20,000,000

3. Private European Collection

Fu bouldering

Rest Under the Waterfall

Frame on colored paper

Painted in 1944

116x40cm (455/8x153/4in)

HK$3,500,000-4,500,000

……

When Lin Yi looked at it, he mainly looked at the price of these lots, but the value of the auction catalogue itself.

Why?

Because as a second-grade player who likes to buy old books, Lin Yi knows very well that this seemingly inconspicuous "auction catalogue" has become a "potential stock" in the eyes of many used book collectors.

If you like to buy used books, go to some used book stalls, or used bookstores, you will find a lot of "bulky" auction catalogues. But you never know that these "worthless" things, which can still be seen everywhere in bookstalls now, are likely to become a dark horse in the collecting world in the future.

In other words, every auction house prints out a beautifully bound auction catalogue, and most collectors will look through the auction catalogue to find the lot they like. After the auction, the auction catalogue is often abandoned at the auction site, and taking it home is also seen by many as a "burden", and it goes into the trash soon after.

Now, Lin Yi is well aware that at last year's Sotheby's Autumn Auction in New York, 142 early auction catalogues were unveiled at auction as auction items, with an estimate of $5,000 to $7,000, but sold for $9,000.

Sotheby's New York pioneered the auction catalogue as the auction bid, allowing domestic collectors to see that the auction catalogue is gradually becoming a new upstart abroad. In fact, foreign auction catalogues are difficult to find in the domestic market, and the demand is large and the quantity is small, so the collection potential is not small. For example, a copy of Sotheby's auction catalogue can usually be sold for three or four hundred yuan, and a thicker one can be sold for about 600 yuan.

In addition, the auction catalogue is also "thick and thin". Those early auction catalogues are highly collectible because of their small surviving volumes. It is worth mentioning that most of today's domestic collectors are only accustomed to using auction catalogues as materials, rather than collectibles, so they pay the most attention to the auction catalogues of Chinese antiques and artworks by foreign auction companies.

Auction companies such as Sotheby and Christie's are well-known, and their auction catalogues are naturally sought after by domestic collectors, so the prices of those auction catalogues are usually higher than those of some unknown foreign auction companies. For example, a copy of Sotheby's auction catalogue is generally sold for a few hundred dollars; A catalogue of "Chinese Porcelain Special Auction" by an unknown foreign auction company was only 20 yuan.

In contrast, the auction catalogues of domestic auction companies are naturally not taken seriously because they are easy to come by. The price is also the best proof of this, a domestic auction company's auction catalogue will be asked for only 10 or 20 yuan on the Internet, and it will be higher on the bookstall price, usually only 50 or 60 yuan. At such a low price, even the cost cannot be recovered.

The production cost of making a beautiful auction catalogue in China is usually two or three hundred yuan, which is the production cost of some ordinary auction catalogues. In fact, another aspect of the auction catalogue is that there are fewer of them. For example, a medium-sized auction company in China usually prints one or two thousand auction catalogues each time; And a large auction company prints only two or three thousand auction catalogues at a time. The auction catalogues of some obscure collections, such as stamp cards, have a relatively small print run, so the collection value will be slightly larger. For example, the auction catalogue of "China Guardian 2006 Autumn Auction - Philatelic Products", the asking price is 100 yuan; "Chengxuan 2006 Autumn Auction - Stamps and Coins" auction catalogue, asking for 150 yuan.

In addition, it is advisable to collect auction catalogues with complete sets of collections, so that the possibility of appreciation will be greater. Of course, the collection value of the auction catalogue sometimes depends on its "interior", and those auction catalogues with in-depth content, strong knowledge, or Chinese and English are worth collecting.

In Lin Yi's view, those beautifully made auction catalogues, like condensed works of art, will sooner or later rise in price and become the new darling of the painting and calligraphy collecting world.

……

Lin Yi carefully looked through the catalogue in his hand, but found that there was no trace of his "Wang Duo's poem manuscript", and after thinking about it, he understood that this work was auctioned as a rare treasure, and it is estimated that he would get something out separately for those buyers who were interested in bidding, as a difference, it was not registered in this album.

Not far away, when Lin Yi carefully flipped through the "New Auction Catalogue" in his hand, he didn't find that a pair of bright big eyes were also quietly staring at him, and a sly smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. (To be continued.) )