All the people from Hwajin-Nomura consortium, including Hyoyeon, looked very nervous.
Even though Haejin hadn’t appraised yet, Mat was also an appraiser. Additionally, as he was speaking positively about the porcelain, they couldn’t help but get worried.
Jeonggu stopped Hyoyeon from showing the painting, he was letting her know that Haejin hadn’t appraised yet.
“What do you think of it?” Mat looked at the glass bowl for some time and then asked Haejin.
It meant it was his time to appraise.
Haejin slowly started to examine it. He studied its bottom, its layer of glaze, and the craftsmanship of enamel paint. Then, he started to explain, “This kind of enameled porcelain was first made in the time of Qing’s Kangxi Emperor. It was made in Jingdezhen, brought to Beijing, and then given to a professional painter for decoration. Porcelains like these were special because the colors of the western world’s oil painting were used for them. It is a harmony between eastern art and western art.”
“Oh… interesting.”
Haejin continued, “So, at first, western artists painted on the porcelains instead of Chinese artists. Chinese artists took their place in time. Enameled porcelains like these were extremely precious, only the emperor could use them.”
“If only the emperor could use it, it must be very valuable.”
“Yes, it is invaluable. It is not easy to get, even with money. I wonder where you got it… it is remarkable,” Haejin, genuinely impressed, replied while looking at Yaerin.
It wasn’t an artifact that could be gained using a huge amount of cash like Eunhae had said.
It must have either been in Haevici Gallery or at Yaerin’s home. Haejin didn’t think she had found it in just a few days.
She looked glad and straightened her back while lifting her chin.
Even though Yaerin hadn’t seen Hyoyeon’s painting yet, she seemed to be sure of her victory.
Mat interestedly studied Hyoyeon and the expression of her people.
They all looked troubled enough, but they were still clinging on to hope.
Hyoyeon then uncovered the painting.
“Huh?”
Haejin looked at her.
She looked calm, but her eyes were full of confidence.
Even Mat was surprised and asked, “You brought another Modigliani’s painting?”
“Yes, but this one is different,” Hyoyeon replied.
However, even though she seemed confident, Jeonggu looked extremely worried.
It allowed Haejin to guess that Hyoyeon had insisted on that painting. She had brought Modigliani’s fake painting before, so trying his painting again seemed to make Jeonggu even more nervous.
Hyoyeon then put the painting next to the table, where it could be seen well.
It showed Modigliani’s typical pattern.
It was the portrait of a black-haired woman with a dark background. Her neck was long and thin, her face was long, and her eyes were blank.
Mat examined it first for some time, but he looked confused.
He couldn’t tell whether it was real or not only with the painting’s content itself.
Hyoyeon told him as he looked at the painting, “I bought this at 8.9 million dollars in Christie’s auction at Hong Kong in 2006.”
“Ohh…”
The painting had been analyzed by Christie’s appraisers and considered authentic. The fact itself raised its credibility.
However, that comment was a little risky.
Hwajin was under investigation for tax evasion and saying it was a painting she had bought in 2006 meant prosecutors didn’t know about its existence.
Of course, the board members of Hwajin, including Jeonggu, glanced at Haejin and their opponents.
They pretended to be fine, but they were busy glancing around.
Yaerin then asked, “You openly brought a bomb? What makes you so confident?”
“Right now, we have been bitten by a dog that doesn’t even recognize its own master, but we know a lot about each other, don’t we? So, I thought you would turn a blind eye on this. We should help each other during hard times, right?” Hyoyeon boldly replied, but Jeonggu looked away as it was too humiliating to endure.
Yaerin wasn’t offended, instead, she looked at Hyoyeon slightly confused and replied, “Oh, you must have heard a lot of rumors, but you should be careful. I won’t say anything, but don’t think everyone in this room will be so generous. And let me give you an advice: you should never show something that can be your weakness to others. That is probably what your father wants.”
“Thank you for your advice. I hope your corporation also acts as wisely as you.”
When Yaerin and Eunhae were fighting it had always been fierce, but Hyoyeon never lost her smile. She was also impressive.
Even Yaerin frowned at her last provocation. Apart from capability, her rude attitude was really remarkable.
As Mat couldn’t understand Korean, he just watched, thinking the two girls were having a nice conversation. Then, he looked at Haejin and asked, “Honestly, I cannot find any evidence that says this painting is fake. It is your turn now.”
Haejin moved closer to the painting and casually asked Hyoyeon.
“There are many fake Modigliani paintings, and you brought another one of his paintings?”
There were really a lot of fake paintings from Modigliani, and there were two reasons for that. He didn’t sign his paintings and didn’t leave any record of his paintings, either.
So, appraising his paintings accurately is not easy. Additionally, as most of his paintings have simple colors and composition, they were easy to imitate.
Hyoyeon answered firmly, “We have made one mistake, but it doesn’t mean all of our paintings are fake. Moreover, we bought this in Christie’s auction in Hong Kong.”
“I guess you like Modigliani,” Haejin commented.
“Not me, my father does. Because his paintings are expensive…”
Modigliani’s paintings started to be appreciated after his death.
When he was alive, he could get only 10 francs for a portrait.
So, he was living a poor life, and then he met his wife who was 14 years younger than him and got married. However, he died of tuberculosis when his wife was pregnant with their second child.
The next day, his wife killed herself and the baby with her in grief.
Most artists were not appreciated in their lifetimes. People only started to like their paintings a long time after their death, and their value soared up. The price went up even higher if the artist had some dramatic story.
The painting of an artist who lived a sad life and met a tragic death is much more valuable than a painting of someone who lived well and died naturally. It was how it worked.
In short, the story of the artist, which is not directly connected to the painting itself, can have a huge influence on its value.
Some rich people prefer to buy paintings of living artists to make money.
They are expecting the painting’s price to soar up after the artist’s death.
It was a little mean.
“Actually, Modigliani isn’t my style,” Hyoyeon then said.
“Then whose paintings do you like?” Haejin asked.
“I like… Dali. Salvador Dali,” Hyoyeon replied.
It somewhat fitted her.
“You thought I would like an artist just as mad as myself, didn’t you?”
“Khmm… no.”
Haejin had known her to be foolish, but at least she was good at reading people’s mind.
Haejin thought talking more would be bad for his appraisal, so he pressed his finger on his lips, and Hyoyeon became silent.
After that, he examined the painting for more than 20 minutes, but he couldn’t find anything strange.
Nevertheless, he was feeling that sense of incompatibility he only felt with fakes after he got his magic.
He didn’t know what the problem was exactly but looking at that painting made him somewhat uncomfortable.
In the end, he used magic. Then, he sighed silently and turned to Mat.
“I’m finished.”
“And how is it?”
It wasn’t easy. The painting was fake, as he had guessed, but he couldn’t prove it.
The forger had made colors that had been made in the late 19th century, and he had used canvas from that period, so scientific tests would prove nothing.
It was a fake, but he couldn’t say so…
It was a perfect fake. It was why the appraisers of Christie’s had failed to find any evidence of it being fake.
Sadly, Haejin couldn’t just say, ‘I dunno’ and walk away.
If he had been alone with Mat, it would have been different, but the leaders of both consortiums were watching his every move now. The moment he let out a vague answer, they would not be able to accept it.
In the end, there was only one thing he could say.
“It does not appear to be fake.”
“Oh…”
In a way, it was the best answer he could give.
He couldn’t bear to say it was real, so he just said it didn’t look fake.
However, everyone took it as a confirmation of the painting’s authenticity. One side sighed in relief, and the other side sighed in disappointment.
“Hmm… I see. Thank you. His Highness is the person who will receive the gift, I will announce His Highness’ decision tomorrow morning. We will also quietly return the artifact His Highness will not accept. Please understand we cannot accept both of them as it is about His Highness’ honor.”
“Thank you.”
“Thank you.”
Mat was telling them to leave as it was all over now. However, they all came to shake hands with him and flatter him until the end.
After they all left, Mat smiled at Haejin and asked, “What would you choose if you were His Highness?”
Haejin knew the painting was fake. However, even though Mat knew about the existence of magic, it couldn’t be good to talk about unexplainable things.
Plus, Mat couldn’t tell the prince about magic.
“I don’t know. They are both very valuable,” Haejin replied.
“What if we just consider the money?”
“That enameled porcelain is expensive, but Modigliani’s painting will also get you huge money if you put it on auction.”
“Hmm… I guess you are right,” Mat commented while sounding serious, but he looked relaxed. It seemed as if he knew who the winner would be.
“Do you know which artifact the prince will choose?” Haejin asked.
Mat’s eyes widened in surprise and asked back, “What makes you think so?”
“I just have this feeling. You look like you know what will happen…”
Mat shrugged and crossed his legs.
“Prince Mohammed used to be a playful boy in his youth. He loved his litter sister, Silvia, and liked playing with her. But then one day, they were playing at the palace and broke a very precious porcelain. It was an ancient Greek hydria.”
“His Highness broke a porcelain at least two millennia old? He must have been scolded very hard.”
Mat continued, “Hahaha! Yes, he was. But since then, he started to be interested in works of art for a different reason from Silvia. Umm… having an interest wouldn’t be the right expression. Should I say obsessed?”
“Then…”
“Yes. He obsessively collects porcelains.”
