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Pinewood marriage chest

with groove joinery

and hand-forged hinges

in the shape of tulip buds.

Walnut sideboard.

16th-century French decorations

of herms

and griffin-shaped cartouches.

Embellished deplorably

in the 19th century.

A pair of oak veneer cabinets

in the Flemish style.

Upper section with two doors,

featuring carved anthropomorphic

figures and caryatids.

Something wrong, Mr. Oldman?

Is it important?

If you were kind enough

to let me have this as a gift,

I'd be delighted to accept.

I don't remember that.

It may look like mouldy wood,

but centuries ago,

beneath the mould,

there must have been a painting.

- Good evening. How are you?

- Very well.

The management

and staff of Styrorex

would like to offer our best wishes,

Mr. Oldman.

Happy birthday, Mr. Oldman.

This year, our chefs wish

to dedicate in your honour

an ancient recipe

of a Renaissance dessert

made of choux cream

and bitter almonds.

Enjoy.

- Most likely a rash.

- lt must be that.

Was it not to your taste,

Mr. Oldman?

Quite the contrary, but you see,

my birthday is tomorrow.

It is now 10:
35pm

and I'm very superstitious.

Pretend I had accepted.

The day after tomorrow, then.

The director of the Vatican Museum

wants you to call him back.

The reliquary attributed to Cellini,

I presume.

The report on this is ready.

There's a pile of gifts.

What shall I do with them?

Send them to my house

except the mobile.

Only one this year.

Good. Word's out that I hate them.

Unless you've changed your habits,

you'll have to answer that.

It's the first call on your birthday.

Tradition.

Hello.

I have no wish

to waste your time.

- Who's speaking?

- It's me, Claire Ibbetson.

Please don't hang up on me.

You're Mr. Oldman's secretary,

aren't you?

You can speak to me.

It makes no difference.

You see, I... I don't know anybody.

I'm on my own.

I'm sorry, Miss lbbetson,

this is not a helpline.

I'm not explaining myself very well.

I'm not in the habit

of speaking to people much.

That's a considerable stroke

of good fortune.

- Talking to people is perilous.

- I'm desperate...

You made the call

so you're running the risk.

It's about the furniture

of my parents' villa.

They... about a year ago.

- You see?

- I understand.

An estate of great...

I've always heard it referred to

as being of...

Extremely valuable.

Very rare pieces,

including paintings.

Unfortunately,

I have no photographs.

So what?

To be honest, I haven't decided yet,

but I would like to have a...

Oh, I'm out of my depth.

What's the word?

- Valuation.

- Exactly.

That is why I asked

to speak to Mr. Oldman.

Does Mr. Oldman have the pleasure

of knowing you?

Oh, no, not at all.

He doesn't know me.

But... but I know a lot about him.

Mr. Oldman's assistants

are responsible for assessments.

- I'll put you through.

- Perhaps I didn't make myself clear.

I must speak

to Mr. Oldman in person.

Mr. Oldman never presides

over early appraisals.

But you see, before he died,

Dad told me that

if I decided to sell everything,

I should entrust the auction sale

to Mr. Virgil Oldman.

- In his opinion, the best.

- Sold!

Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me

great pleasure to present lot 231,

a refracting elongated telescope

constructed by Galileo Galilei.

It's still in perfect working order.

Can we open bidding,

please, at 1,000,000?

- 1,100,000.

- 1,100,000. 1,200,000.

1,300,000.

1,400,000 on the telephone.

1,500,000 back in the room.

1,600,000.

1,700,000.

1,800,000 in the room.

1,900,000. 2,000,000.

At 2,000,000.

Gesundheit. Was that a bid?

At 2,000,000. 2,100,000.

2,300,000 on the telephone.

2,500,000. I can sell it. 2,700,000.

At 2,700,000.

Any more? Are we all done?

At 2,700,000.

Sold. Congratulations, sir.

Lot 232.

Disciple of Boris Gregorian, Thurst.

Oil on canvas, 60 x 70.

This one will go to the best offer.

1,000. 2,000.

3,000. 4,000. 5,000 online.

6,000. 7,000.

8,000. 9,000 on the telephone.

10,000 back in the room.

11,000 online.

12,000. 13,000 online.

14,000. 15,000.

This is not doing my neck any good.

At 15,000.

20,000. At 20,000.

Any more? Sold!

- Beautiful, isn't it?

- Yes. Very.

You never miss a trick,

do you, governor?

- Who is it really?

- Yansky.

A Russian painter

who died in the late '30s.

An outstanding landscape painter.

But among his many landscapes,

he painted three portraits.

Only three in his whole life.

And this is one of the three.

It's double, alright?

How long have

we known each other?

Quite a while.

We've pulled off some sharp tricks

time after time.

Remember Milo Hensen?

You were the only one who knew

he was going to be big.

We got that portrait of his mother

for a song

from under the noses

of that bunch of idiots.

Must be worth a fortune now.

You almost sound bitter

you didn't get more.

Have we ever talked about money,

you and me?

- Honestly, no.

- It's been good enough for you.

It's been good enough for me,

you misery.

What matters is that you're satisfied.

My only regret is never being able

to persuade you

that my paintings are evidence

of a great artistic talent.

A love of art

and knowing how to hold a brush

doesn't make an artist.

You need an inner mystery.

A knack you've never possessed.

You're right. Double wasn't enough.

In my 36 years in this business,

never has anyone had the gall

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