Chapter 0638 – Oddities (III)

“Zhuang Rui, this is Mr. Bas Guimet of the Guimet Museum in Paris, he is a descendant of the founder of the Guimet Museum, Emile Guimet, and is also this term’s museum director.”

Early the next morning, in Zhuang Rui’s hotel room, there was a second set of guests, again brought by Huangfu Yun, but this time, Qin Xuan Bing did not hide inside the house, but stayed in the living room with Zhuang Rui.

Bas Gimei is probably about fifty years old, his hair is a little gray, with a pair of gold glasses, the whole person looks very elegant, like a professor who teaches in the university, and after shaking hands with Zhuang Rui, he is very quietly sizing up the young man in front of him.

Zhuang Rui guessed right, Bass in addition to the curator of the Museum of Jimi, but also in a university as a teaching task, is indeed a real professor.

And Bass came with, there is also an appraiser, as the saying goes, there are specialties, Bass is not very familiar with Picasso’s works, but in Paris and Europe, the people who study Picasso are just too many, want to find a Picasso paintings appraisal, it is still a very easy thing to do.

“Mr. Bass, how are you, please sit down ……”

Zhuang Rui didn’t act very enthusiastic, but he wasn’t cold either, but Bass’s treatment was much better than Ezkena’s yesterday, at the very least Qin Xuan Bing poured a cup of coffee over for the two of them.

Ezkena’s ancestors were once French robbers, while Bass’s ancestors, but more innocent, so in Zhuang Rui here, to have coffee tea treatment.

Zhuang Rui had looked up the history of the Jimi Museum, from which he learned that Emile Jimi, the founder of the Jimi Museum, was originally an industrialist in Lyon, France, in 1889 in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, the official establishment of the Jimi Museum, which mainly displays the religious cultures of Egypt, Ancient Rome, Greece and Asian countries.

Most of the collections in the Musée Guimet were collected by Emile Guimet during his early travels around the world in Egypt, Greece, Japan, China and India.

At first, the museum focused on the religious cultures of Egypt, Rome, Greece, and Asian countries, but later, as a result of a series of expeditions to different parts of the Far East, the museum became more and more interested in Asia while preserving the religious part of Ancient Egypt.

In 1927, the Guimet Museum came under the auspices of the French Museum Headquarters, and thus received a large collection of artifacts acquired by explorers on expeditions in Central Asia and China.

Later, the museum received originals from the Indochina Museum and excavated objects from the French expedition to Afghanistan, and the Musée de Guimet became famous for its rich collection of pan-Indian art.

In 1945, when the French state-owned museum collection was reorganized on a large scale, the Musée Guimet transferred its Egyptian section to the Louvre, which gave back its Asian art section, making the Musée Guimet the premier museum of Asian art.

It is precisely for this reason, in the Ji Mei Museum, there are a large number of valuable Chinese cultural relics, of course, there is no lack of some of the Eight-Power Allied Forces after people, transferred to the Louvre’s valuable Chinese works of art, so Zhuang Rui asked Huangfu Yun and Ji Mei Museum to approach, just Bass Ji Mei can personally come, more or less also let Zhuang Rui some surprise.

France’s many museums, but the main exhibits are mostly Asian or Chinese cultural relics of the museum, Ji Mei Museum can definitely be said to be second to none.

As a museum whose business direction is centered on Asia, Zhuang Rui originally did not have much expectation on the possibility of exchanging collections with it, but seeing Basse Guimet, Zhuang Rui felt that things seemed to have turned around a bit.

“Mr. Bass, please forgive me for taking the liberty to ask, your museum’s main business direction should be in Asian art, I wonder what kind of opinion you have on Picasso’s works?”

Zhuang Rui first need to figure out the status of Picasso’s works in Bass’s mind, which can be bargained, and he also knows that foreigners talk about things more straightforward, if he himself and his circle set, I’m afraid that by the afternoon, Bass Gimme won’t even understand what he means.

“Mr. Zhuang, although Mr. Picasso is a Spaniard, most of his life was spent in France, he should also be considered a Frenchman, and his influence in France is much higher than that of any person in France, including President de Gaulle back then.”

Bas Gimme’s undisguised praise for Picasso made Zhuang Rui’s heart rejoice, you’d better offer Picasso as an ancestor, then I can only open my price a little higher.

“As a museum with a long history of more than a hundred years, we should also develop through multiple channels, and while operating a good Asian artwork, we should also explore the work of collecting the fine works of European modern art masters, and Mr. Picasso’s works are what every museum dreams of.”

Zhuang Rui did not know that although the Guimet Museum belongs to the headquarters of the French Museum, but that’s only in name, all kinds of miscellaneous expenses as well as profits, Guimet Museum is still all self-sufficient, in today’s business society, a museum wants to develop better, there is no doubt that it has to have a more appealing to other people’s eyeballs.

Compared to Chinese culture, Picasso’s works will undoubtedly be more appealing to tourists from all over the world, which will also enable the Jimei Museum to carry out a new profit-making project, and will give the Jimei Museum more funds to do a good job of repairing the museum and maintaining its artifacts.

And the most crucial thing is that in the Yoshimi Museum, there are many more Chinese antiques pressed in the warehouse, some artifacts have not even seen the light of day for decades, if those antiques can be exchanged for Picasso’s works, Bas Yoshimi believes that this proposal will be agreed by everyone.

Playing children on a rainy day and being idle, being able to exchange some Chinese artifacts that could not produce value for the world-famous Picasso’s works, how to calculate this business, Bas Ghimey felt that he would not lose out.

“Of course, Mr. Zhuang, first of all, the works of Mr. Picasso in your hands must be authentic for there to be a possibility of cooperation between us.”

Seeing that Zhuang Rui was sitting there out of his mind after shaking hands with himself, Bass couldn’t help but speak out and prompted Zhuang Rui.

“Oh, that’s of course, I’m sorry, Mr. Bass, I thought of something else, a part of Mr. Picasso’s work is here, you and your appraiser, you can appraise it now.”

Zhuang Rui waved his hand, Peng Fei took out those six sketches of still objects, in addition there were six sketches of small children, Zhuang Rui was considering that the other party was a representative of a museum, the demand should be relatively large, so he took out twelve works at a time.

If Bas Jimei can come up with the corresponding Chinese antiques that Zhuang Rui can look at, Zhuang Rui doesn’t mind to take out all the remaining Picasso sketches.

Of course, the six Picasso women’s sketches, Zhuang Rui is still ready to leave Ezekena, after all, Ezekena there are two pieces of Yuan blue and white, is Zhuang Rui coveted, has long been in the heart to make up his mind, must take one back.

After seeing Bas Gimei and that appraiser, who put their attention on the Picasso sketch, Zhuang Rui came to the side of Huangfu Yun, and said, “Brother Huangfu, this time again, I’m troubling you, by the way, do these two speak Chinese?”

“No, Prof. Bass is delivering chemistry and is not a linguist.”

Huangfu Yun shook his head, followed by indignantly saying, “I say Elder Brother Zhuang, don’t play false! If you want to thank your brother, take something real out, like this! If the Jimei Museum can have an ancient Chinese sword, you help me ask for one out, of course, I’ll pay for it, as long as it’s not too expensive.”

Looking at Zhuang Rui strange goods with Picasso’s works and other people’s negotiations, Huangfu Yun that heart is like being clawed by a cat in general, helpless that they do not have Zhuang Rui’s luck, which has Zhuang Rui to eat meat, they follow the idea of drinking a mouthful of soup.

“Hehehe, this is good to say, this is good to say, really can not, my that stereo sword.”

Zhuang Rui looked at Huangfu Yun laughed, just talking about the fixed-light sword, looking at Huangfu Yun’s face of excitement, Zhuang Rui said with a bad smile, “really can’t, that fixed-light sword also can’t give you.”

“Shit, say something with a point.” Huangfu Yun interrupted Zhuang Rui in a depressed manner.

“Success, just according to what you said, brother Huangfu, if Jimei has a good sword, I will definitely get one for you.”

Zhuang Rui nodded his head and agreed, if not Huangfu Yun, he came to Paris is simply a black eye, who do not know, Ezkena and Bass are introduced to Huangfu Yun, not to mention Huangfu Yun want to buy antique swords, is to send him a handful, Zhuang Rui is also willing.

Of course, the premise is that the sword of the Jimi Museum, don’t be a grade with the sword of stereo, in that case, Huangfu Yun just want to buy also can’t afford to buy, send? In your place, you will send a hundred million dollars worth of contraptions to others for nothing?

After talking with Huangfu Yun, Zhuang Rui glanced at Bass and the appraiser, lowered his voice and said: “Brother Huangfu, I have heard that the Jimi Museum of Chinese cultural relics, up to more than 20,000 pieces, you say that we and what they exchange a little bit of good it?”

Zhuang Rui on this matter is really some head scratching, he yesterday in the Jimei Museum, but fancy that piece of Western Han Dynasty jade carving “White Jade Tiger”, but the Chinese cultural relics on display in the museum, just a very small part of the collection, Zhuang Rui was afraid that he missed out on any good objects.

Huangfu Yun hemmed and hawed and said, “This is simple, old brother, I’ll tell you, in 1945, the Louvre Asian Department, all the Asian cultural relics, all transferred to the Jimi Museum, all the good things are in there.”