《经济学人》双语：削价拍卖会对艺术市场有何影响？
原文标题：
Auctions
Going Dutch
An experiment pokes fun at the art market
拍卖
荷兰式拍卖
一项嘲弄艺术圈的尝试
What an unusual auction says about the art market
Poking fun at status-obsessed buyers
一场不同寻常的拍卖会对艺术市场有何影响
这是对欲显身份的买家的嘲弄
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PENNY PINCH, a Chicago street artist, likes to have fun with art-world finances.
彭尼·平奇（意为“锱铢必较”）是一位芝加哥街头艺术家，喜欢与艺术界的金融机构打交道。
His work—from murals to paintings to tote bags made in collaboration with the Chicago Cubs baseball team—uses scavenged or donated materials (hence the name).
他的作品--从壁画到绘画，再到与芝加哥小熊棒球队合作制作的手提包--都使用了废旧或捐赠的材料（艺名由此而来）。
His latest experiment, hosted at A Very Serious Gallery, in the city’s north-west, is in pricing.
他的最新试验在芝加哥西北部“一家非常严肃的画廊”进行，目前处于定价阶段。
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On December 16th Mr Pinch is due to sell 15 paintings, one of which is pictured, in a Dutch auction.
12月16日，平奇先生将以削价拍卖的方式（荷兰式拍卖）出售15幅画作，其中一幅如图所示。
Each will start at a price of $3,000, which will be cut by $100 every hour until a buyer emerges.
每幅画的起拍价为3000美元，每小时降价100美元，直到有买家出现。
According
to Mr Pinch and Allan Weinberger, the gallery’s owner, it is the
first-ever such auction of new art (a claim your correspondent could not
disprove).
据平奇先生和画廊老板艾伦·温伯格所说，这是新艺术品的首创拍卖方式（本报记者无法反驳这一说法）。
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Dutch auctions are more commonly used to sell homogenous goods, such as cut flowers in 17th-century Holland or government bonds today.
削价拍卖较常用于售卖同质商品，例如17世纪荷兰的鲜切花或今天的政府债券。
Their use for unique works is considerably rarer.
在独特的艺术品领域，极少使用削价拍卖方式。
Mr Pinch says the auction is “an opportunity for people who can’t normally buy large pieces of work”.
平奇先生表示，此次拍卖“对那些通常无法购买大型艺术品的人来说是一次机会”。
It is also an opportunity to poke fun at the art world.
这也是一个嘲弄艺术圈的机会。
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The opportunity may come at a cost.
这样的机会是要付出代价的。
As Eric Budish of the University of Chicago notes, the trick with a Dutch auction is knowing where to set the starting price.
正如芝加哥大学的埃里克·布迪什所指出的那样，削价拍卖的诀窍在于设定起拍价的位置。
For Treasuries, the range is established by looking at previous auctions.
对于政府国库券来说，价格范围是通过查看以往的拍卖纪录来确定的。
For Mr Pinch’s art, there is no equivalent, meaning he risks setting the price too low and leaving money on the table.
对于平奇先生的艺术作品来说，没有任何参考等价物，这意味着他可能将价格定得太低，就会出现有钱不赚的情况。
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Mr Pinch is unconcerned by this, as he has something else in mind.
平奇先生对此并不在乎，因为他心里有别的想法。
At a regular auction, a potential buyer is influenced by the crowd.
在常规拍卖中，潜在买家会受到人群的影响。
Clamour for an offering indicates a higher potential resale value and a greater status gain if the auction is won.
如果买家赢得拍卖，那么他大声出价意味着他的拍卖物有更高的潜在转售价值，他本人也能获得更高的社会地位。
These sorts of considerations are “icky”, reckons Mr Pinch, which is why he likes Dutch auctions, where they are not possible.When somebody else bids, it is too late.
平奇认为，这些考虑因素“令人不悦”，荷兰式拍卖没有这些因素，这就是为什么他喜欢荷兰式拍卖的原因。当有人出价时，其他人就不能出价了。
Potential buyers must focus on how much they value the art, not how much others do.
潜在买家的焦点必须在他们自己对艺术品价值评估上，而不是其他人的估值上。
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Yet
there is an irony to the experiment. By launching the first Dutch
auction for art, Messrs Pinch and Weinberger may generate enough hype to
attract exactly the sort of buyers they wish to repel—those motivated
more by status than a love of art.
然而，这个实验具有讽刺意味。平奇和温伯格首创的荷兰式艺术品拍卖会可能会产生足够大的宣传效果，从而吸引到他们不喜欢的买家--不是出于对艺术的热爱，而是出于提高社会地位的动机。
（恭喜读完，本篇英语词汇量421左右）
原文出自：2022年12月17日《The Economist》Finance & economics版块。
精读笔记来源于：自由英语之路
本文翻译整理: Irene本文编辑校对: Irene
仅供个人英语学习交流使用。
【补充资料】（来自于网络）
芝加哥小熊队（Chicago Cubs）是美国职棒大联盟（MLB）的一支球队。该球队的经济实力相对雄厚，有超过100年的历史，而且球迷也广泛的分布在全美各地，但却有100年未赢得世界大赛（World Series）冠军。这是大联盟连续未获冠军时间最长的球队。
荷兰式拍卖Dutch auction也称“降价拍卖”或“高估价拍卖”。是指在拍卖过程中，拍卖人宣布拍卖标的的起叫价及降幅，并依次叫价，第一位应价人响槌成交。但成交价不得低于保留价。主要针对不易存放的物品进行的降价拍卖,如鲜花，海产品等。
【重点句子】（3 个）
Their use for unique works is considerably rarer.
在独特的艺术品领域，极少使用削价拍卖方式。
For
Mr Pinch’s art, there is no equivalent, meaning he risks setting the
price too low and leaving money on the table.
对于平奇先生的艺术作品来说，没有任何参考等价物，这意味着他可能将价格定得太低，就会出现有钱不赚的情况。
Clamour for an offering indicates a higher potential resale value and a greater status gain if the auction is won.
如果买家赢得拍卖，那么他大声出价意味着他的拍卖物有更高的潜在转售价值，他本人也能获得更高的社会地位。
