This is 99% invisible. I'm Roman Mars.

February 23rd 2009,

Christie's International in Paris held a much anticipated three-day auction from the private art collection of the late fashion designer

Eve St. Laurent. The auction took place at the historic Grand Palais, and the items up for sale were 733 pieces that

Saint-Laron and his partner, Pierre Bourget had amassed over five decades.

The French press dubbed this the sale of the century.

Producer Vivian Lai.

There was a piece by Marcel du Champ, a painting from Picasso's Cubis period,

even a landscape by Edgar de Gage that had once hung at Pierre Bourgé's bedside.

Interested byers from all over the world flocked to the Champs-E-Lise for a piece of the action.

It will be a great, great event, you know, an event the like of which we've never seen before,

both in terms of people congregating to see Saloran's collection, but also in terms of the prices that

will be achieved.

But probably the two most anticipated items at the event were a pair of bronze animal

heads from China, one of a rabbit and one of a rat that dated back to the 18th century Ching Dynasty.

They're quite odd looking and I don't find them beautiful.

This is Audrey Wang, she's a historian of Chinese art and was an Asian art specialist with Christie's auction house.

Through my time I had the opportunity to work with some pretty amazing art.

On the third and final day of the auction, the bronze heads went up for sale one at a time, starting with the rat.

The opening bid started at 9 million euros.

It quickly rose to 10 million.

Then it jumped to 13 million.

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