FAMOUS CHRISTIES'

Taranaki Daily News, 29 January 1931, Page 16

FAMOUS CHRISTIES'

GENTLEMANLY QUIET.

HOW SALES ARE CONDUCTED.

Even murders can be conducted in a gentlemanly manner, as for example, in duels, so that I suppose I should not have been so very much surprised when I visited the famous Christies’ to discover that an auction sale is not necessarily an “all-in go,” says a writer in the Daily Pictorial. By comparison with the stately decorum of a sale at Christies’ a wedding ceremony is a, bachelor’s farewell party and the Old Gentlemen of Lord’s Cricket Ground a howling mob. , . t. i « They were selling the late Earl ot Balfour’s silver plate when I entered the small, domed auction room in King Street, St. James. At least, I presumed they were selling, for the .handsome, actor-like auctioneer was swinging his head from side to side like a pendulum and with every swing lie named a higher price in a soft, musical voice. Somebody, apparently, was bidding, but the auctioneer seemed to be the only person in the room who knew anything about it. Not a sound came from the crowd standing around the room,. or from the sleek gentlemen, many Jewish, sitting at the red baize-covered tables underneath the rostrum. One could eventually discover the bidders by watching the direction of the auctioneer’s glance. At the«eud of each swing he would! alternately glare at a young man sitting at the table and look inquiringly at a big man standing in a group at the right of the rostrum. There was no malice in the glare given to the youngster; it was inevitable from the fact that the auctioneer stared by lift-; ing his eyebrows so high to the big man that he could not raise them any higher; consequently he had to depress them heavily at the other end of his .pendulum swing. In. any case, the young man never once looked at the auctioneer, but indicated his bids by nodding at the point of his pencil, so that it really didn’t matter. If you are of a friendly disposition there is something fearfully dangerous in this nodding away of hundreds. Ths auctioneer is one of those fine, agreeable fellows whom you feel you would like to know, and you feel certain that if he looks across at you in that inquiring way it will be impossible to resist nodding pleasantly at him! Just for an instant there was a faint stir of excitement when a 16th century, dish of silver gilt curiously engraved with the- arms of a noble family was shown round. Somebody bid a thousand for it; at least the auctioneer said

They cleared five thousands, and were well o*n the way to the sixth, but gave up at £5BOO. The auctioneer looked round in pained surprise to see if anyone else would nod, remarked a little disappointedly, “‘No advance on £5BOO, gentlemen?” and declared it gone. Not for worlds would he have dreamt of pressing anybody, but he indicated very gently his feeling that they might have done better.

Then a queer, ugly, battered little urn of Charles H.’s reign was put up. In the same way the auctioneer’s head swung through the hundreds until £3OO was reached, and no doubt somewhere in the room two people were nodding away hundreds just as quickly. Towards the end of the bidding I caught one man, who proved later to be the successful buyer, in the act of nodding. And when later he walked round the room to chat with someone, I saw one thrilling indication of the intensity of this silent drama. His hands were trembling as if he had come through some nerve-wrack-ing ordeal.

Because the mere fact of an article being offered for sale at Christies’ puts the hall-mark of genuineness and worth upon it, the auctioneer made not the slightest attempt to induce the audience to buy the goods. The things were up for sale; they could take, them or leave them.

At times the swiftness of the bidding reminded me of the Melbourne wool sales. But in every other way the two functions were as different r/j an alltalking, singing dancing andl ranting musical comedy and a wax works.