Road to becoming the wealthiest: Starting From Treasure Hunting in the Cabinets
Chapter 668 - 430: Show Some Colors!

Chapter 668: Chapter 430: Show Some Colors!

Twenty-three million, Sean Knight bought Zhu Da’s "Fishhawk Playing in the Water Painting".

Bunny Girl took the painting and put it in a scroll box on the small table in front of Sean.

Mike Whitmore was delighted and gave Sean a thumbs-up:

"Mr. Knight, you have good taste! I believe that in your hands, this painting will be great for both appreciation and increased value as a collection - alright, next up is the second auction item, a gold crown from the Medieval Holy Roman Empire Royal Family, said to have been worn by the queen at that time."

As Mike introduced the item, Bunny Girl brought up an exquisite jewelry box.

Opening the jewelry box, one could see the gold crown inlaid with gemstones. The three gemstones were perfectly polished and quite large, emitting a dazzling glow under the light.

It was indeed a fine item.

The design was delicate without being overly complicated, and it looked noble and elegant.

"Starting bid is one million five hundred thousand US dollars - bidding starts now!"

Hearing this, some people let out dissatisfied hissing and murmurs:

"Is a Medieval royal crown really worth less than a painting by an unknown Chinese painter?"

Sean chuckled upon hearing this comment.

Mike also seemed to have anticipated such a reaction and explained with a smile:

"Collecting antiques is about their provenance. This crown is said to belong to the Medieval royal family, but that’s just an expert’s interpretation. Unfortunately, the collector couldn’t trace the crown’s origin when they bought it.

Moreover, due to some incomplete historical records, it was impossible to trace the original owner of the crown, so the valuation isn’t high - but it’s already quite high."

Although Sean was not an expert, he knew that antiques value is based on an orderly lineage. The folding fan used by a celebrity might be worth more than a gold bowl used by an ordinary person - there’s no logic to it.

Zhu Da’s painting had an orderly lineage that could be traced and its past owners had stamped it - although the stamp maniac had ruined some of the charm, his stamp proved the painting had been collected by the Chinese royal family, and therefore increased its value.

Everyone understood Mike’s explanation; some were simply being resentful. After the small interruption, someone made a bid.

Since the gold crown and its gems were authentic, bids were plentiful, quickly raising the price to eighteen million before slowing down.

The highest bidder was the man who had previously questioned the crown’s value compared to the painting, followed by a silent, sixty-year-old white man competing with him.

The elderly man had a lean figure and remained silent, seemingly deep in thought.

Sean gave the crown a glance and lost interest.

With the help of Sky Eye, he could see that the gold crown had been repaired, and while the gemstones were original, he had plenty of similar items in his spatial realm.

After all, the St. Roman Empire had existed for hundreds of years, and there were numerous emperors, queens, and the like during its time. This crown had no known lineage, so it wasn’t a rarity.

In the end, the old man acquired the golden crown for nineteen million six hundred thousand dollars.

Following that, two more auctions took place: a short sword from the English Royal Family and a gold scripture from the Indian Pallava Dynasty.

Ultimately, both of these items were acquired by bidders at slightly above their reserve price.

While the four auction items sold smoothly, the participants’ enthusiasm wasn’t high, leading Mike to complain:

"It seems the auction items we’ve prepared are well-received, but the atmosphere isn’t heated enough! Is it because you’ve all aged?"

His words drew laughter and disapproval from the crowd.

"No, no, no, of course, you haven’t aged. At least, while looking at these beautiful girls around, you wouldn’t admit to feeling old.

So, let’s see your strength!

Next up, we present the first surprising auction item -"

He reached out, and two Bunny Girls carried a wide, flat packing box over.

"An oil painting by Monet Anderson: ’Woman by the Fireplace!’"

There was a gasp from the crowd!

Even if they didn’t know much about painting, they had at least heard of Monet Anderson’s name.

This painter had a high reputation in the European and American art world. Once his works went to auction, they were generally snapped up at high prices and collected, no longer seeing the light of day.

Having a Monet painting up for auction was truly a surprise.

"Rest assured," Mike said, observing people’s excitement. "This Monet piece has been authenticated by two experts as genuine. It’s in excellent condition, and you can now take a close-up look at it!"

Unlike before, almost all of the dozen or so people who came to the auction rushed over - except for Sean and the old man who had bought the golden crown earlier.

It took them more than ten minutes to return to their sofas, reluctantly.

Even after returning to their seats, they continued discussing the exquisite aspects of the painting.

However, in Sean’s view, what they talked about was similar to his own understanding, all laymen’s talk.

"Alright, we’ll now start bidding for this painting - the starting bid is twenty million dollars, please place your bids now!"

"Twenty-one million!"

Alex Young was the first to bid, his voice loud and attention-grabbing.

He had bid a few times before, but it hadn’t been very frequent nor had it attracted much attention.

Before participating in the auction, he had noted someone’s words.

However, Alex had his own opinion. Instead of bidding on many items, it was better to focus on bidding during important auction items in order to leave an impression on others.