Tricolor pottery had a profound influence on Chinese ceramic art. Tang Sancai in particular was an epoch-making milestone in the history of ceramics. Moreover, Tang Sancai aligned fairly well with foreign aesthetic tastes, so many foreigners were extremely fond of it—some to the point of treating it almost like a totem.
Domestic collectors, however, preferred porcelain such as blue-and-white ware. It was precisely because of this that Chu Chen had his sudden inspiration and thought of this idea.
Chu Chen continued, "If someone really buys our goods overseas, at least I can use that money to buy back cultural relics scattered abroad. That's better than letting foreigners profit from it. Besides, do you think all those foreigners are good people? Overseas, even at some major auctions, it's perfectly common for fakes to appear."
"That seems unlikely, doesn't it?" Gu Gongyi found Chu Chen's words somewhat difficult to believe.
"That's because you don't know much about the antiques trade. Some of the tricks used at auctions would probably scare you half to death if you heard about them..."
Chu Chen chuckled. Considering that although Gu Gongyi could be regarded as half a member of the antiques trade, he usually focused only on researching porcelain and knew little about many of the dealings within the industry, Chu Chen introduced him to some of the tricks used at overseas auctions.
Generally speaking, most auction houses' main source of income was commission. Domestic auction houses usually charged five to fifteen percent, while major international auction companies charged slightly more. Therefore, for auction companies, raising the final price not only meant collecting more commission, but also attracting famous buyers and sellers and increasing their reputation. It was a profitable move in both fame and fortune.
There were many ways to raise the final price. The