Nineteenth Century Medical Guide

Chapter 317. 313. Team Reunion

"There are no officers in this world who know cavalry as well as Mira, and artillery as Drouot; and Drouot was a true man of kindness and piousness, whose virtue, his incorruptibility, and his frankness were among the greatest in the republic. Admired in times of difficulty." - Napoleon I

The name of the "real man" did not die with his death, it was left on a street in Paris' ninth arrondissement.

And when the Association of Auction Appraisers, which has never had a fixed auction venue, fell in love with this place, an auction house with the longest history and the strongest strength in French history was born on this street. 【1】

In the 19th century, Paris, the capital, gathered a large number of art dealers, galleries, art patrons, collectors and first-class art creators.

Because auction houses have intensive financial circulation and face the public directly, whether artworks 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 has made its own contribution with one auction after another. While paying tribute to the famous masters, it constantly develops new trends.

Without exception, the most famous French painters in the 19th century showed their incredible imagination to the world in Drouot.

This auction, or it should be called an auction that aggregates large and small auctions, focuses on the surviving paintings by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, a representative of neoclassicism.

They are kept by Inglis Studio, and on November 11, they cooperated with Drouot Auction House to open a limited visit to the paintings.

Carvey's goal was naturally not the great painter, but a smaller auction that took advantage of the traffic of the painter's works.

Like the great painters, this small sale has a relevant subject, catalog and follow-up auction appraiser.The appraiser only communicates with the seller, and Kawei cannot see it before the auction. Even the catalog is only placed at the exhibition, and in principle, it cannot be shown privately.

"I've spent a little time on the relationship." Slang said, "This includes some artworks from the seller's private collection, but most of them are his collections brought back from the East."

Kawei and Shanwang remained silent the whole time.

From the moment they met Slang, the two of them only stared at the photos in the catalogue, and they didn't even touch the coffee in front of them.At most, he would reply with "um" or "oh", indicating that he was still listening, but in fact, the two of them were suffering a huge shock in their hearts.

After the shock of being robbed, another kind of more viscous and long-lasting feeling of aggrieved.

After working in the bank for so long, Slang can still see some changes in the atmosphere.

Shanwang is of yellow race, so he might feel angry because of some insignificant patriotism when he saw this.Carvey is fair-skinned, even if he is not French, he should feel proud and excited.But the expressions of the two were very similar, and in the end he could only classify this expression as a special reaction produced by the oriental collection.

Slang wanted to break the silence, and started chatting about what the auction exhibition looked like, hoping to arouse the interest of the two of them:
"This is the biggest auction event in two years. The champagne on the table is overflowing like a river, and the caviar is like bread crumbs. And those socialites who want to expand their network, wearing dozens of Jewels of tens or millions of francs."

Carvey's face softened a little, but he still had no interest in these things: "The first round of limited-visit exhibitions is over?"

"Yes, the first round of limited exhibitions and public exhibitions are over." Slang explained, "It's not a big deal, because the two-week preview has just begun, and there will be several public exhibitions in the future, for example, there will be one tomorrow. There will be an exhibition of illustrations. Then there will be etchings and lithographs, and after the exhibition is all over, the real auction will start.”

"It's still so long."

"That's just the time for Ingres's paintings." Slang explained, "The small exhibition doesn't take so long. There are only two exhibitions in total. One will be held on the 8th and 9th, and the second will be held with Ingres's paintings tomorrow and the day after tomorrow." If you calculate carefully, the day after tomorrow will be the last day."

Carvey compared his working hours and calculated carefully: "When will the auction start?"

"15rd."

"It's pretty fast."

"It wasn't originally at this pace." Slang stirred the freshly delivered coffee with a small spoon, and said, "Actually, ordinary auction items only need to be exhibited for one round, but considering the presence of the Queen of Austria, the seller and the auction We made the decision to postpone it together.”

"The seller's name is Eli Jean?" Carvey looked at the character introduction in the auction catalog and said, "It turns out that he is 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 home. At the same time, there were many good things looted in the warehouse of his house.

This enemy in the eyes of Kavi and Shanwang is a well-known war hero in France, and no matter how bad he should be, he should be an indomitable explorer in East Asia.Even the preface of the catalog is full of praise for him:

[Science added brains to France, art made life better in France, and Commodore Eli Jean was responsible for opening up the frontiers of France, and these collections are a gift from God for his contribution. ]
Carvey snorted softly, flipped back to the catalog of exhibits, and asked, "Can I go to the limited exhibition tomorrow?"

"Of course, with Dr. Carvey's current reputation, he only needs to spend a small amount of money to get in." Slang had already prepared and took out a card, "This is an invitation letter from Drouot Auction House. You can come in and out as you please."

"Thank you." Kawei thanked him, but his face was still ugly, and his tone was not much better. "Ten o'clock tomorrow?"

"Correct."

Slang nodded, suddenly thought of something, and asked, "By the way, how much does Dr. Carvey want me to prepare for you?"

When it comes to money, Carvey's face finally returned to normal, because money is his biggest reliance besides surgical technology.

From the dividends of the pharmaceutical factory, the dividends earned by the pharmaceutical factory and the equipment factory from the war, to the tickets for the surgical theater, plus the salary originally paid by the Military Medical Office and the Municipal General Hospital, he has accumulated a lot of wealth in Vienna.

On weekdays, Kavey's life is extremely monotonous, and he basically doesn't spend much, just enough to support himself.

The only place where it can be considered a big expense is the addition of laboratory supplies and the purchase of the patent for methylene blue.But these two can give back to the pharmaceutical factory, which is actually a kind of early investment.

Up to now, the income in his Viennese bank account has exceeded one million crowns.

With an annual income of this level, only big entrepreneurs in business are qualified to compare.Laszlo couldn't help but sigh after doing the calculations. It was much more difficult for him to start from scratch than Carvey.

And those ZF officials who look glamorous will only earn [-] to [-] crowns a year if they die.

The most typical of these is Edward, who served as ambassador to Vienna with an annual income of 11 francs (Krone to franc = 1:2).Counting the free housing, daily necessities, tableware and private carriage, there is no way to compare with Kawei.

Now that the other party asked about money, Carvey needed to answer carefully.

The amount of preparation should not be too much, the bank may not be willing to give it if it is too much, and it will easily lead to unnecessary troubles.The amount to be prepared should not be too small. If it is too small, there will be various concerns at the auction and the goal will not be achieved.

Carvey really couldn't come up with an appropriate figure for a while, the only thing he could refer to was the various reference prices on the auction catalogue.

The catalog of the auction not only contains photos and introductions of various exhibits, but also the reserve price of the auction and the "appropriate" price estimated by the appraiser.

"What does this reference price mean?" Carvey asked [2] pointing to a bronze snake ornament, "Does it mean that the appraiser thinks this dragon is worth 450 francs?"

"This is a dragon, Doctor Kawei." Shanwang reminded kindly, "It is a creature in Chinese myths and legends, which symbolizes imperial power, nobility and auspiciousness. This bronze dragon is made of one body, with whiskers, claws, scales, The corners are very detailed and lifelike, and they are definitely treasures."

"Um..." Carvey was stunned for a moment, then smiled, "Mr. Shanwang is indeed as knowledgeable and talented as Professor Hu Jier said, but as my consultant, you should be more subtle, so as to save me money."

"I'm sorry Dr. Carvey, I just do it out of respect for the art of my country."

Slang is not interested in whether this thing is a dragon or a snake: "The reference price asked by Dr. Carvey 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 only known at the time of the official auction. This time, the Marquis of Avery Jean even wrote the amount in the envelope, which is very mysterious.”

"It was so"

Carvey admitted that at first he didn't take the reference price too seriously, thinking that it was just a casual writing, but when it really came to the auction, there must be various price hikes.But after asking Slang, Carvey realized that this is really a serious reference price.

A bronze dragon, the reference price is 475 francs;

A jade screen with a reference price of 3500 francs;【3】

A gilt chime bell, reference price 2700 francs; 【4】

A jade seal button, the reference price is 4200 francs; 【5】

A jade girl pen holder, the reference price is 280 francs; 【6】

A set of Qing Dynasty soldier clothing, weapons and accessories, the reference price is 400 francs【7】.
The reference price of these items hardly exceeds 5000 francs, and there are even too many items that have not even touched the threshold of 1000 francs.Simply put together, even if the reference price is doubled to prepare, Carvey only needs 20 francs, which is equivalent to 10 kroner.

However, it was too abrupt to directly ask for 20 yuan. After thinking about it for a while, Kawei found an excuse: "This blue lion is not bad, and the color looks very comfortable."

At this moment, Good Hope, who corrected Kawei just now, spoke again: "Doctor Kawei, this is a unicorn, not a lion. The blue layer on the outside is enamel, a kind of glaze coloring process, and the process is very complicated and elegant."

Kavi asked, "Kirin?" [8]

"It is a kind of mythical beast in Chinese mythology."

"It does look a little different from a lion."

Carvey stroked the picture with his fingers, liked it more and more, and said, "This thing is really beautiful. The reference price is more than 10000 francs. It must be the most valuable thing here. When it comes to auction, the price will definitely be very high." How about this, Mr. Slang, how about your bank providing me with 20 francs first?"

Slang was actually a bit psychologically prepared, but the price has been fluctuating around 10, and this 10 is the result of the sum of the reference prices.

Who would have thought that Carvey doubled the money directly for insurance, which surprised Slang: "So much?"

"What? Can't you?" Carvey said, "Based on my surgical work in Vienna, my annual income has already exceeded this figure."

"No, that's not what I meant. For such a large Bank of Paris, 20 francs can still be paid for." Slang took two sips of coffee and continued, "It's just that the so-called interest-free loan at the beginning will change. trouble."

"It doesn't matter, as long as you are willing to give the loan in these two days, the rest will be done according to your bank's rules." Carvey was very straightforward and directly set the amount.

"Row."

"See you tomorrow."

The limited exhibition on the second day was far less exaggerated than what Slang said. Compared with the surgical theater, it seemed deserted, and it was completely incomparable with the painting exhibition of the great painter next door.Carvey still had good hopes, hurriedly looked through most of the exhibits and then returned to the main palace hospital.

After checking the mother who had the operation yesterday, he took over another placenta previa, and it is expected that the child will undergo surgery when the child is mature in a week.

That night, Cavett made a trip to Shebasto's mansion to change the police chief's medication.

Redness and swelling inevitably appeared at the incision of Mr. Director's scalp, but there was not much exudation under the skin, and everything was still under control.Even if the infection develops further, Kawei feels more at ease than in the past two days, because his team will arrive soon.

Another day later, at 11 o'clock in the evening on November 14th, a small train that looked very inconspicuous 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.Among them, the most conspicuous one is the third wife, the French queen, Eugenie, who is at the forefront.

This century-like meeting is different from any meeting of emperors and commanders. It belongs to the moment when two beautiful queens met in the 19th century. It is a collision between cheerfulness, stability and gloomy freedom.

It's a pity that the meeting completely got rid of the shackles of men, but it couldn't get rid of the politics imposed on them by the men and the surrounding environment.The relationship between Fao is bound to change because of the meeting between the two, and the situation in Europe will also change.
Standing at such a time node, Kawi, who was standing in the front row of the welcome queue, didn't care about it.What he cared more about were the other people walking behind the queen's guard, the assistants he had always thought about.

(End of this chapter)