Prize for the Winning Bid

A week ago Matt and I went to a charity auction that included Chinese furniture and antiques. They also had Persian carpets, artwork, and some random items like stainless steel BBQ utensils. It was a triple date with friends and we had a great time watching the bidding. There was one piece of furniture that we liked and actually had been talking about for some time, a bookshelf. This is a Chinese made piece in the Dutch style according to Wilson, the Chinese man who brought the items from China. I am intrigued by how he goes by the name Wilson but was unable to satisfy that curiosity. We were given Chinese fans with numbers on them for the bidding. Matt and I set a limit for the piece and I was given the fan to bid. For a while we thought we were getting the piece for a steal and then someone in the back started to bid against me. We were not at our limit yet so I was happily raising the bid. Apparently the other person needed this piece of furniture as well and was not giving up so easily. It became an intense bidding war and I was so flustered that I was shaking. We ended up winning the bid for $80 over our initial limit so we did okay. The intensity must have been palpable because after I won the bid the whole place erupted in clapping. I was still in shock and put my little fan under my chair in case I had the urge to bid on something else. Earlier in the evening I had accidentally bid on an ugly piece of furniture when I bent down to get my water glass and was holding the fan. Thankfully someone else wanted the piece and the bidding continued. Whew!

Here is the bookshelf in all its' splendor. The piece is 7 feet tall!
The picture quality is bad but you can get the feel for the piece. Inside the doors are shelves. I think the piece is timeless and will travel nicely with us to wherever we may be living next.