The first lot to be auctioned was a portrait by John Singer Sargent, the most famous portrait painter in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His portraits were well-known in the United States and around the world.

As soon as this painting was taken out, it attracted a lot of attention. Even though the size of the painting was not very large, it was eventually sold for 8.8 million US dollars, becoming the most expensive item at auction today.

The second piece turned out to be a bronze sculpture by Auguste Rodin.

Rodin is a modern sculptor who can be compared with Michelangelo. His "The Age of Bronze" and "The Thinker" are both extremely rare masterpieces.

Although the bronze sculpture titled "The Mountaineer" that the Mellon family brought out this time is not one of Rodin's most famous works, it is also a very extraordinary bronze sculpture. Therefore, as soon as this work was revealed, it immediately caused a sensation among everyone on the scene.

Rodin still has a very high status in the minds of Westerners, and many Westerners like his works very much. Therefore, Rodin's works have always had extremely high collection value.

Yang Jing is also very interested in this "Mountain Climber". He has many bronze sculptures in his hands, but most of them are relatively old. He has not collected any modern sculptures, so he also wants to take a picture of this "Mountain Climber".

However, the holy ring, which had been silent for a long time, directly stopped Yang Jing, which made Yang Jing regretfully watch as the "Mountain Climber" was finally bought by Harry Morgan from the Morgan family for 32 million US dollars.

This price immediately surpassed the portrait painting and became the most expensive auction item today.

Although this price is high, it is nothing compared to Rodin's other works. Yang Jing, who knows the price of precious artworks in 20 or 30 years, is very clear. If this work is auctioned in 20 years, it will definitely be worth more than 100 million US dollars.

Harry Morgan was able to buy the work at such a "low" price because this was not a formal auction and many people were unwilling to compete with the eldest son of the Morgan family. If such a Rodin work was auctioned at a formal auction, it would definitely not be sold at a price of less than 50 million US dollars.

The first two works that the Mellon family brought out were both sold at auction. In this era, it is not common for artworks to be sold for over tens of millions of dollars.

However, when Timothy Mellon took out the third item for auction, everyone present was a little dumbfounded.

What is this?

Timothy was holding a black box that was about the size of an adult's fist. The surface of the box was covered with horizontal and vertical stripes, as if the box was made up of dozens of horizontal strips of varying sizes. Moreover, the box looked incomplete, as if a part was missing.

Everyone took turns going up to take a look at the box, but no one could recognize what this strange and seemingly incomplete box was.

"This is a collection that the family collected at the beginning of this century. It is made of silver mixed with some other metals. It is said to come from the mysterious East, and according to appraisal, this box has a history of nearly 1,100 years. Our family once invited a Chinese appraiser from Chinatown to appraise this box. According to that Chinese appraiser, this box is a box called "Lu Ban Box" from the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period of China. It is just that a part of the box is missing and cannot be opened normally. And the Chinese appraiser is very sure that this kind of exquisitely crafted Lu Ban box could only be made by royal craftsmen at that time, so this box should have come from the royal family of China more than a thousand years ago. Although the box cannot be opened, it has a history of more than a thousand years, and it was also a royal item at that time, so it is of great historical significance."

Just as Timothy said, although the box was incomplete, it was a silver box with a history of more than a thousand years after all, and it was owned by the ancient royal family of China. So after Timothy's explanation, many people immediately prepared to take a picture of the box.

As for Yang Jing, he was stunned after seeing the box.

ps: I would like to thank “孤独的垌心” for the reward of 1,000 and “仙书虫134” for the reward of 500.