章節 652: Chapter 652: Animal Heads and Preparing to Smash Plates
'...Hua Lao, you temporarily stop acquiring antiques and focus on gathering information on antiques. Wait for my news!'
After hanging up the phone, Xia Yu's face turned cold, and cold light flashed in his eyes.
After a moment of thought, he made two phone calls, to Elena and Wu Hongyi, asking them to help him gather information.
Then, he used his own resources and connections to gather information on Sotheby's auction house and the Askenazi family.
Although Xia Yu remembered some things about these two families, it had been decades since he had seen them, and he couldn't remember everything, so there were bound to be some discrepancies. In order to make the most accurate judgment and decision, he needed the most detailed information.
Over the next few days, more and more information reached Xia Yu. The more he learned, the more the cold light in his eyes grew.
...
London, England, 166 Piccadilly, the headquarters of the Eskenazi Company Limited.
Forty-year-old Giuseppe Eskenazi listened to his subordinates' reports, his brows gradually furrowing.
Giuseppe Escenazi had been exposed to antiques since childhood, and after the death of his father Isaac at the age of 28, he took over the family business in the UK.
Under his leadership, the Escenazi family, who had fled from Turkey to Milan, Italy, saw the family business flourish year after year, and Escenazi Ltd. became one of the largest antique dealers in the European antiques industry.
And now the family's focus has shifted to the UK, and the burden of the family has shifted from the shoulders of his uncle Vittorio to his shoulders.
As a shrewd Jew, Giuseppe Eskenazi has an extremely keen business sense and the patience of a viper. It is precisely for this reason that he has successively developed the American art market and the art market of the island country, and has made a huge impact on the European art market.
And after the island art market, he once again set his sights on a target: Chinese antiques and art!
As a top European art dealer, Eskenazi Ltd. is very well informed, so Giuseppe Eskenazi gradually learned that someone was buying large quantities of cultural relics and art from China.
A few years ago, he happened to visit China and visited many of its museums, and was very impressed.
However, he also knew the economic level of China, and with limited funds at Eskenazi & Co., he decided to invest his resources in developing the art market of the island country.
It was not until this year that he learned that China had undergone tremendous changes and had announced the reform and opening up of the economy.
After learning by chance that someone was buying Chinese cultural relics and artworks in large quantities, he realised that he could start to test the water.
From the last century to the present day, the Eskenazi family's collection has a total of nearly 6,000 Chinese cultural relics.
However, due to the economic situation in China and the overall economic level of the Chinese people, the prices of Chinese cultural relics on the market are generally not high. Therefore, the Askenazi family rarely sells them, and focuses its efforts on fleecing the arrogant and wealthy islanders.
However, if the same method is used as with the island's art, to drive up the price of Chinese cultural relics, the Askenazi family's collection of 6,000 Chinese cultural relics will be a gold mine.
In order to realise his plan, Giuseppe Eskenazi approached Sotheby's, the auction house with the closest ties to him, which is now Europe's number one and the world's number one auction house!
The annual Sotheby's summer auction is about to begin, and after some secret negotiations, Eskenazi Ltd. will provide a batch of Chinese cultural relics for Sotheby's to stir up a wave of speculation about Chinese cultural relics.
If the plan is successful, the Eskenzian family will reap huge benefits, while Sotheby's, as the auctioneer, will also open up new markets and be able to reap even greater benefits.
Not only did he work in this area, Giuseppe Eskenzian also had people compete with Huashengshi for Chinese cultural relics, which not only allowed him to acquire a batch of Chinese cultural relics, but also drove up the price of Chinese cultural relics in the competition.
However, he did not expect his subordinate to report that Huashengshi had given up competing with them and would no longer be acquiring Chinese cultural relics. This situation was unexpected for Giuseppe Eskenazi and to some extent disrupted his plan.
'Carry out the original plan and send someone to pay close attention to industry news. If anyone acquires Chinese cultural relics, report to me immediately!'
Giuseppe Eskenazi sternly instructed his subordinate.
Then he went to Sotheby's auction house again.
...
'As expected... I just didn't expect him to start at this time. Could it be my butterfly effect?'
Jiuding Tower, Chairman's Office, after going through the intelligence provided by various parties, Xia Yu's eyes were glazed over as he thought to himself.
Although no detailed plan from Giuseppe Eskenazi was collected, Xia Yu was able to confirm his suspicions once again by combining the available information.
The Eskenazi family wants to fleece the Chinese, planning to hoard Chinese cultural relics and speculate on their value.
In a previous life, the Eskenazi family did just that, and yet they were still crowned one of the world's most respected dealers in Chinese art.
And Giuseppe Eskenazi has repeatedly shocked the world by setting auction records for Chinese cultural relics and works of art.
For example, in 1999, he paid HK$26.5 million for the Chenghua doucai chicken cup, setting a world record for Ming dynasty doucai ware.
In 2005, he paid £15.688 million (about RMB 230 million) for the 'Yuan Dynasty blue and white porcelain jar with the design of Guiguzi going down the mountain', setting a world record for Chinese artworks.
...
In 2009, he paid £3.4 million for a Qing Dynasty Qianlong period gilt-bronze mounted jasper water buffalo, setting a world record for Chinese jades;
In 2015, he paid £2.725 million for a Tang tri-colour glazed vase with a phoenix handle, setting a world record for Chinese ceramics from the Tang Dynasty...
From Giuseppe Eskenazi's repeated large purchases, outsiders would think that he is a lover of Chinese art and is willing to pay money to collect it.
But how many people know that behind these purchases are the soaring prices of cultural relics and artworks, as well as the Eskenazi Company Limited's rising revenue and the Eskenazi family's skyrocketing family assets?
Xia Yu also knows some secrets about the twelve animal heads of the Old Summer Palace.
The ox, monkey and tiger heads that have now been repurchased and placed in the Poly Art Museum were all put up for auction in Hong Kong by the Eskineazi family as early as the 1980s, bought by a tycoon from Taiwan Province, and then auctioned again by the Poly Group at the turn of the millennium.
Even after ten years, they first used public opinion to stir up patriotic feelings among the Chinese people. When they felt the time was ripe, they once again put the Rabbit Head and the Rat Head up for auction in Paris, France. However, they did not expect a certain Mr Cai to foil their plans. The two animal heads were auctioned for a total of more than 31 million euros, but he refused to pay and wanted to let them go unsold.
In the end, François Pinault, the fifth richest man in France and also the largest individual shareholder of Christie's auction house, bought them and donated them to China in 2013.
As a result, the Eskenazi family still managed to make a fortune.
Xia Yu knew all this because he remembered that a British tycoon had once visited the Eskenazi family's treasure vault and seen the two animal heads from the Old Summer Palace.
In fact, apart from these, the most significant dragon head, which has never been seen in the world, is also in the Askenazi family's collection.
What the Askenazi family has done not only annoys Xia Yu, but also seriously affects his antique collection plan.
The price of Chinese cultural relics and artworks has been inflated, so won't the cost of his acquisition increase significantly? Future profits will also decrease significantly, which is cutting Xia Yu off from his source of wealth!
Under these circumstances, how could Xia Yu remain indifferent when he guessed the plan of the Eskenazi family?
The mastermind is the Eskenazi family, and the accomplice is Sotheby's auction house!
Neither of these two can get away with it!
Thinking about the upcoming Sotheby's summer auction, Xia Yu's eyes narrowed slightly, and a sneer curled the corner of his mouth.
Want to speculate?
No way!
I'll just smash the plates!
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票