The Best Offer (La Migliore Offerta) (La migliore offerta)

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 to keep me waiting 40 minutes.

It's a disgrace. A display of bad manners.

Let me explain. I tried to call.

- There's no excuse. - I tried to call.

Never come near me again.

Nobody answered and I don't have your mobile number.

I do not possess a mobile phone.

lt's the lbbetson woman on the phone.

- Tell her to go to hell. - She's crying.

Serves her right.

She was hit by a car on her way to meet you.

So much the worse for her. It's no concern of mine.

She was left unconscious.

She was lying in a pool of blood when the ambulance arrived.

Alright. Put her through.

- Yes? - Please forgive me.

I had no intention to be in any way disrespectful.

Nothing too serious, I hope.

No. Fortunately, they'II... they'll let me out tomorrow.

Good. I hope you make a speedy recovery.

Would you consent to a new appointment?

- Please. - Alright.

But I'm sending an assistant.

I hope it's the same one I spoke to last time.

What do you mean?

Well, I can't explain it, but I understood from the outset

that voice could only have been yours, Mr. Oldman.

Truly surprising, wouldn't you say?

We think we'll be able to bring out the whole face,

part of her dress and the left side of the background.

Incredible. But what made Mr. Oldman think that?

- What period is it from? - Too soon to say.

Perhaps Mr. Oldman will be able to work this out

more quickly and better than us.

- It's a fake. - How is that possible?

- It's beautiful! - I didn't say it wasn't.

I said it wasn't authentic.

From an analysis of the pigments and wood,

we thought it was pre-17th century.

- Even older. - Then it must be worth something.

It is a work by Valiante, the female forger of the 16th century.

She copied masterpieces,

but couldn't sign them as she was a woman,

so she marked them with a personal code

hidden in the folds of the drapery

or in this case, in the gaze of the subject.

The beam of light on the iris is nothing if not a V.

That is Valiante.

It is worth something, but nothing compared to the original.

- Are you Mr. Oldman's assistant? - Yes.

I'm Fred, the caretaker. Pleased to meet you.

- Please, come in. - Thank you.

And Miss lbbetson?

She sends her apologies,

but overnight, she was running a temperature.

She should have called me. Spared myself a wasted trip.

Well, give her my best wishes.

She asked if you would go ahead with valuation.

She's instructed me to show you around.

Everything's at your disposal. Come with me.

Miss lbbetson was hoping to meet your boss.

It doesn't matter. Your mistress didn't show up either.

Fair enough.

I suppose it'll get the job done quicker.