"21 million..."
After a brief silence, Mao Watanabe, sitting in another corner, called out another price, causing a stir in the auction hall.
It's not uncommon for auctions held in this setting to fetch tens of millions of dollars, but in the past, most of the high-priced items were works by foreign artists, such as Picasso and Van Gogh, or jewelry that was inherently very valuable.
However, it is unprecedented for an ancient book from China to fetch more than 20 million yuan at a private charity auction.
"Honey, what's the use of those books? Why are they so expensive?"
"Oh, God knows why? I only know I won't buy it..."
Are all Easterners crazy? Spending over 20 million on just a few books?
"Perhaps those are artifacts from their country, but I prefer Picasso's works..."
Around Zhuang Rui, conversations like these could be heard. The well-dressed or flamboyantly dressed gentlemen and ladies didn't understand Zhuang Rui and Watanabe Mao's actions. In their view, the price of Eastern art shouldn't be so high.
Zhuang Rui, standing to the side, was both amused and exasperated. The value of antiques is not only reflected in the market. Many antiques with inscriptions are even more important for historical research, as they can truly reflect the social structure of a certain period, which is something that many priceless antiques do not possess.
Just like Chinese bronzes, bronzes with inscriptions are worth tens or even hundreds of times more than those without inscriptions. The reason is that historians can interpret a lot of meaning from those few simple inscriptions to verify the historical changes of that era.
"Mr. Mao Watanabe offered 21 million yen. It seems that this ancient book from the East can now be compared with precious Western artworks..."
At this moment, auctioneer William's face was full of excitement. It was so enjoyable to host this high-end auction. He didn't need to waste his breath to recommend and encourage the auction, and the prices of the items sold were far higher than those of the auctions he had hosted before.
The only thing that William found somewhat regrettable was that the items auctioned off in this setting didn't really showcase his auctioning skills.
Zhuang Rui raised his right hand and said expressionlessly, "22 million US dollars..."
Although the price far exceeded Zhuang Rui's estimate, since a Japanese person was willing to pay such a high price to exchange for China's national treasure, Zhuang Rui had no reason to back down. In fact, compared to the more than 700 million US dollars that Zhuang Rui had just received, these tens of millions were not enough to cripple him.
"25 million US dollars, Mr. Zhuang. I truly admire your country's culture. These six copies of the Yongle Encyclopedia should be displayed alongside the other copies. I hope you can..."
Mao Watanabe sensed Zhuang Rui's determination and immediately raised the price to $25 million. However, this was the highest price he could offer, since the actual value of the Yongle Encyclopedia was far lower than the current asking price.
Another point is that although Mao Watanabe is a senior executive at Sony and owns a significant number of shares in the company, as everyone knows, shareholders generally hold company stock. On the surface, they may have a lot of money, but in reality, those are just figures on paper. Before the stock is sold and transferred, not everyone is a billionaire.
Just like Bill Gates, who is nominally the world's richest man, he often sells his Microsoft shares to raise cash for himself. Mao Watanabe is the same; his billions of dollars are all tied up in company stock, and the cash he can currently access is only a few tens of millions of dollars.
“Mr. Mao Watanabe, although art knows no borders and I admire your understanding and pursuit of Chinese cultural relics, I think... it is most meaningful to let these cultural relics return to their place of origin. I will contribute 30 million US dollars.”
Zhuang Rui could sense that Watanabe Mao was not like a typical greedy Japanese person who only thought about using money to plunder cultural relics from other countries. Watanabe Mao must have really liked these copies of the Yongle Encyclopedia. His sincere attitude earned Zhuang Rui's respect.
Of course, respect is one thing, but it's absolutely impossible for Zhuang Rui to give up these few copies of the Yongle Encyclopedia. In fact, if it were possible, Zhuang Rui would like to buy back all the Yongle Encyclopedias collected by the Watanabe Mao family. In Zhuang Rui's words, "I'm not short of money now."
"Mr. Zhuang, perhaps you are right. If you have time to visit Japan in the future, please do visit my home. I will bring out the fragments of the Yongle Encyclopedia from my family collection and discuss them with you..."
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's bid, Watanabe Mao hesitated for a moment. He couldn't believe that the Chinese had become so wealthy that they could wield such influence in the international art market. Although he greatly admired these copies of the Yongle Encyclopedia, the price, which was almost on par with Picasso's works, ultimately made Watanabe Mao shake his head and give up the bidding.
"Thank you, I'll definitely go if I have the chance..."
Zhuang Rui nodded. He wouldn't be hostile to Japanese people who truly appreciate Chinese art, but he wouldn't go to Japan again. The incident he orchestrated in Japan last time wasn't foolproof, and he suspected that some people in Japan wouldn't welcome Zhuang Rui's visit.
"Mr. William, shouldn't you..."
After Zhuang Rui called out the price of $30 million, William on the stage was somewhat stunned. He had witnessed countless high-end auctions, and just last month, he had even hosted an auction of Picasso works, which fetched a high price of $62 million.
Although the price at that auction was far higher than Zhuang Rui's bid today, as one of the most famous auctioneers in the world, William knew in his heart that Picasso's works were originally worth that much money, while the true value of these Chinese ancient books was only a little over ten million US dollars. Now, they have been sold for three times their original value.
"Uh... Mr. Zhuang from China has offered $30 million. Ladies and gentlemen, is there any other bid?"
After asking his usual question, William slammed his gavel down and pointed at Zhuang Rui, saying, "Congratulations, Mr. Zhuang, on acquiring these precious books from Mr. Bonadette's collection. We also thank you for your contributions to charity."
So far in today's charity auction, Zhuang Rui has undoubtedly been the most prominent figure. Whether it was the ruby at the beginning or the six copies of the Yongle Encyclopedia, both fetched the highest prices today. This has made many super-rich people around the world start to take this young man, Zhuang Rui, seriously.
In today's society, apart from some old-fashioned British people who still adhere to aristocratic traditions and believe that everyone else is insignificant except for the nobility, mainstream society values a person's wealth and influence more when evaluating their success.
People like Bill Gates or Bernardet, if they go to some small countries, their status is on par with the leaders of those countries. This is the privilege granted by their wealth. Of course, such privilege can only be implemented with the approval of certain circles.
"$30 million for a few books? Are Chinese artworks really that valuable?"
"I think so. Perhaps I should hang a few paintings and calligraphy works from China in my castle..."
After the dust settled on these copies of the Yongle Encyclopedia, various discussions arose in the venue. What Zhuang Rui did not expect was that after this charity auction, the prices of Chinese artworks soared at some international auctions, and many people who did not pay much attention to collecting Chinese antiques made a purchase, creating a Chinese craze.
"Zhuang, thank you for your generous support..."
Bonadet walked up to Zhuang Rui with a smile and raised his glass to him. As the host of today's charity auction, Bonadet would be in a bad mood if the items didn't sell or sold for a low price. Zhuang Rui's actions undoubtedly boosted his face.
“Mr. Bonadette, it’s only right. You’re donating such precious artifacts to charity. I think... you’re the one who should be thanked…”
Zhuang Rui clinked glasses with Bona Dette in a friendly manner. The appearance of these copies of the Yongle Encyclopedia today was indeed somewhat unexpected for Zhuang Rui. You know, these rare ancient books scattered all over the world are not something that money can buy; you also need an opportunity.
"Hehe, Zhuang, don't be so polite. When I was young, I didn't have your kind of boldness. By the way, there's something else I think you'll find very interesting..."
Given Bonadette's age and experience, he wouldn't normally be easily pleased by a few words of flattery, but Zhuang Rui's words still made him very happy.
Zhuang Rui was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "Oh? It's also an artwork from China? Mr. Bonadette, I think... I really need to visit your collection room..."
Chapter 1055 Xuande Incense Burner (Part 1)
From Bonadette's act of taking out these six volumes of the Yongle Encyclopedia, Zhuang Rui knew that the old man's ancestors must have participated in the Eight-Nation Alliance. Such items, hidden deep within the Imperial Palace, had almost no chance of being lost abroad except during that catastrophe.
The number of national treasures lost in the past is countless. Some people have made a rough estimate that at least one million antiques and cultural relics accumulated by China over thousands of years of civilization have been collected by museums or private individuals around the world. Among them are some exquisite pieces that cannot even be seen in China.
Zhuang Rui wasn't a radical youth; he knew he couldn't bring all these national treasures back to China on his own. But since he'd come across them, he didn't want to let them go. Besides, although his museum was famous, its collection was too small. Bringing some items back from abroad would enrich his collection.
Although he didn't win billions as expected during this trip to Las Vegas, the more than 700 million US dollars he had on hand was the largest sum of money Zhuang Rui had ever handled. Even if he gave several hundred million to Huangfu Yun for his charitable foundation, the remaining money would be more than enough to buy some antiques.
"Would you like to visit my collection room?"
Bonadette paused for a moment when he heard Zhuang Rui's request, then smiled and said, "No problem, but Zhuang, you'll need to set aside two days for it..."
Two days?
Zhuang Rui was somewhat puzzled. Although his collection in the Dingguang Museum in Beijing was not comparable to those in national museums, he was confident that it was no less than that of private collections. Even so, if he looked at it quickly, he could finish it in two hours.
Bonadet said it would take two days to see his collection, which meant that Bonadet's collection was at least dozens of times larger than Zhuang Rui's. Zhuang Rui was quite skeptical. Even the great British collector Ezkener wouldn't dare to make such a boast in front of him.
Seeing the dismissive look on Zhuang Rui's face, Danny, who was standing next to Bonadette, smiled and said, "Mr. Zhuang, Mr. Bonadette has a very large estate, filled with his collection of artifacts from all over the world, totaling more than 400,000 pieces. It would probably take more than two days to see them all..."
As Bernadette's senior personal assistant, Danny happens to manage these collections for Bernadette, so he knows Bernadette's vast collection very well, which is one of the reasons why he was able to participate in this auction.
"Four... over four hundred thousand pieces?"
Zhuang Rui, who had always been calm and composed when meeting his former idols since entering the venue, finally changed his expression after hearing this number.
Since the establishment of his museum, Zhuang Rui has gone to great lengths to acquire antiques, accumulating more than 10,000 items in his collection. Not all of them are masterpieces; there are also many worthless items that cannot be displayed. Even so, Zhuang Rui's museum has been valued at more than three billion US dollars by international appraisal agencies.
Bonadet's collection is more than thirty times larger than Zhuang Rui's. Even if only one-third of the items are valuable, he would still have a net worth of tens of billions of dollars just from his collection. And this is not even from a profitable business, but merely from Bonadet's private collection.
Danny's words made Zhuang Rui realize the gap between himself and the world's super-rich. Zhuang Rui, who had previously felt he had achieved some success, was now sweating profusely. It turned out that his previous mentions of his museum were like showing off his skills in front of Lu Ban (a legendary carpenter) and Guan Yu (a legendary swordsman).
"Damn it, wasn't it all stolen from our ancestors?"
Zhuang Rui cursed inwardly, trying to find some balance. Otherwise, what could he do? Zhuang Rui's museum collection, which he was always proud of, was actually less than a fraction of what others had. This was just too damn discouraging.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the next item to be auctioned also comes from the mysterious land of the East... China. This is a metal artifact used by the ancient Chinese for perfuming clothes, as well as for decoration and worshipping God. Friends who appreciate Chinese art, please prepare to bid..."
Just as Zhuang Rui was feeling somewhat embarrassed about his earlier lapse in composure, William's voice rang out from the auction stage, instantly making Zhuang Rui forget about Bonadette's collection of over 400,000. He was very puzzled because he couldn't understand what William was describing.
"What is this thing used for worshipping God?"
Ancient Chinese people only revered ghosts and gods. Although foreign missionaries entered China as early as the Ming Dynasty, the Chinese ruling class always restricted their development. Even during the enlightened Kangxi era, foreign missionaries had no place to survive in China.
It wasn't until the 18th century, after China's national power declined, especially after the Opium War when Britain forced open its doors with cannons and warships, that the worship of God became popular. Upon hearing William's words, Zhuang Rui wondered to himself, "Could these be items used in 18th-century Chinese churches? But these things aren't very valuable..."
"Damn, is this for worshipping God?"
When Zhuang Rui saw the item being pushed in and placed in a crystal display case, he couldn't help but stare wide-eyed. What a joke! This... this is just an incense burner!
However, Zhuang Rui understood what William meant. It turned out that in his eyes, the Chinese people's worship of gods and Buddhas was the same as worshipping God. This foreigner was arrogant and thought that there was no faith in the world except for Jesus.
After giving William a look of disdain, Zhuang Rui turned his attention to the display case. After examining it carefully, he couldn't help but feel a stirring in his heart.
This object is a Ming Dynasty Xuande censer made using two techniques: gold sprinkling and gold inlay. It has an open mouth with a round lip, a short and slender neck, a flat drum-shaped belly, and dragons and phoenixes carved on the body. It comes in four colors: blue, yellow, gold, and purple. At first glance, the entire piece has a crystal-clear texture and a simple and ancient shape, giving it a sense of returning to simplicity.
The body of the censer, excluding the areas with gold inlay and gold sprinkling techniques, is golden yellow and appears shiny. It has a hard, antique finish on the surface, with a smooth and delicate luster, and seems to radiate a mysterious light from within, giving it an endless charm.
"A replica of a Xuande incense burner?"
Without using the spiritual energy in his eyes, Zhuang Rui was a little unsure. The production and smelting methods of Xuande censers were very particular. Ordinary bronzes only required four smeltings, while Xuande censers required as many as twelve smeltings. In addition, imported red copper from Siam, as well as dozens of precious metals such as iron, aluminum, gold, and silver were added, making the process extremely complicated.
It can be said that, apart from the first smelting during the Xuande period, all the Xuande censers produced after that, including those produced in the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty, were imitations. Although they could also be called Xuande censers, they were far inferior to the genuine articles.
After hundreds of years of trials and tribulations, genuine bronze incense burners cast in the third year of the Xuande reign are extremely rare. Even later imitations of Xuande incense burners are expensive, with the finest examples being highly sought after.
Just last year, China Guardian's autumn auction featured a collection of Xuande censers from the renowned collector Wang Shixiang. One of them, a later imitation of the "Xuande censer with gold leaf and three legs" with the inscription "Made by Qinglai in the winter of the Renwu year of Chongzhen" in regular script, fetched a high price of nearly 2 million RMB.
Generally speaking, as long as the style and design of the replica Xuande incense burner have the characteristics of the mid-Ming Dynasty, such as patina and bronze, its price is over 100,000 yuan. It is especially popular among collectors in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and its price has been rising in recent years.
Because genuine Xuande censers are so rare, antique dealers have been constantly imitating them from the Xuande period of the Ming Dynasty to the Republic of China period in order to make huge profits.
These meticulously crafted replicas of Xuande censers are comparable to the genuine articles, and even experts and authorities cannot distinguish them. To this day, among the many Xuande censers collected in major museums across China, not a single one can be recognized by numerous appraisers as a genuine Xuande censer. Identifying genuine and fake Xuande censers has become one of the "unsolved mysteries" in Chinese archaeology.
As for the Xuande censers produced in the third year of the Xuande reign, which feature gold sprinkling and gold inlay techniques, they only exist in legend. The ones that can be seen on the market now are basically made in the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty and the three Qing Dynasties. Therefore, Zhuang Rui cannot distinguish their authenticity by looking at them with his eyes alone.
Zhuang Rui had seen many Xuande censers in China, but they were all later imitations. They could be distinguished by the color and strength of the aura. Most of them were works from the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Therefore, when he saw this object, Zhuang Rui did not pay much attention to it. You know, during the Qing Dynasty, most of the Xuande censers used in the palace were also imitations. What the Eight-Nation Alliance looted may not have been a genuine Xuande censer.
"Huh?"
However, since the Xuande incense burner had appeared, Zhuang Rui still released a wisp of spiritual energy and entered the crystal display case. When the spiritual energy in his eyes just touched the gilded Xuande incense burner, Zhuang Rui was stunned for a moment.
Having possessed spiritual energy for so long, Zhuang Rui had developed a certain understanding of the colors reflected by it. In his classification, the spiritual energy displayed by Ming Dynasty objects was mostly red, with early objects showing a slight purple tinge. However, the Xuande incense burner in this glass cabinet was filled with a soaring purple aura, with not a trace of red visible at all.
"Could it be... a genuine Xuande incense burner made during the Xuande period?"
As Zhuang Rui sensed the rich spiritual energy and deep purple color in his eyes, a thought popped into his mind. In his years of experience using spiritual energy to appraise objects, when the strength of an item's spiritual energy and its color exceeded the era in which it appeared, there was only one explanation: this item was definitely a masterpiece produced at that time.
Although Zhuang Rui had possessed spiritual energy for several years, he had never been able to effectively use it to determine the specific age of an object. Regarding this phenomenon, Zhuang Rui guessed that the strength of the spiritual energy and the intensity of the color in the object might be due to people handling it too much. Of course, this was just Zhuang Rui's guess.
Even though it was just a guess, Zhuang Rui was still very excited, because among all the Xuande censers he had ever seen, this one was the most likely to be a genuine Xuande censer. Perhaps after buying it and studying it, he could uncover the differences between genuine and fake Xuande censers.
"This exquisitely crafted metal artifact used for worshipping God, still gleaming after six or seven hundred years, is said to have been used by emperors in ancient China. Its starting bid is $200,000, with increments of $10,000. Ladies and gentlemen, if you are interested, you may now begin the bidding..."
After William gave a brief explanation of the Xuande incense burner, he announced the starting bid. However, the response from the audience was not as enthusiastic as William had imagined. For more than a minute after William made his announcement, the entire banquet hall was silent.
William was getting anxious. The other books had been auctioned off so enthusiastically, so why was this incense burner, also an ancient Chinese artifact, going unnoticed? After coughing, William said loudly, "Ladies and gentlemen, this item has such a low starting price; it definitely has huge potential for appreciation. Are there any interested parties?"
However, even after William emphasized the preciousness of the incense burner, no one bid, and many people simply turned their attention away from it.
William actually made a fundamental mistake, which was... he shouldn't have said the item was cheap, because everyone in the room, including international movie stars and directors, was a millionaire with a net worth of over ten million dollars.
Zhuang Rui just made a remarkable move, spending thirty million US dollars to acquire the ancient book. If they were to bid on these items worth two or three hundred thousand US dollars, these super-rich people would inevitably feel ashamed. To use a fashionable phrase from a few years ago, when they buy things in this kind of setting, they only buy the expensive ones, not the right ones. They can't afford to lose face like that. Another important factor is William's mistake in his explanation. Foreigners worship God as the one on the cross, and they don't have the tradition of burning incense and offering prayers. At most, they just murmur a few words of prayer. Therefore, believers in Jesus do not consider this thing to be used for worshipping God.