Settling auction house feud was kids’ stuff

Talk about playing the art market.

When Maspro Denkoh Corp. decided last spring to sell its corporate collection of Impressionist paintings at auction, the Japanese television equipment manufacturer contacted the world’s top two art auctioneers and asked a lot of questions.

Maspro’s president, Takashi Hashiyama, wanted to know how Christie’s International and Sotheby’s Holdings would market the centerpiece of the collection — a dazzling Cezanne landscape expected to fetch up to $16 million — and what prices each would give to lesser works by Picasso and van Gogh.

But Hashiyama had an unusual final inquiry, one that would ultimately decide which auctioneer won the important business. The question: Rock, Paper or Scissors?

Hashiyama informed Christie’s and Sotheby’s that they would play a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors to break the tie, a method he had used many times in the past to determine important business deals.

“It probably looks strange to others,” he says. “But I believe this is the best way to decide between two things which are equally good.” Indeed, the game in Japan is something of a cultural institution, and is often used to make arbitrary decisions.

Neither house was particularly thrilled to have the outcome decided by a childhood game, people close to the companies say. After all, they together had spent tens of thousands of dollars to make their pitches, flying senior art specialists back and forth between New York and Maspro’s headquarters in Nisshin, Japan.

But Christie’s experts “did research into the psychology behind the game,” says a company spokeswoman. “Our client was serious about his decision so we weren’t flippant about it in the slightest.”

Executives at Christie’s found a trove of information about the game, whose origins are believed to date back to 18th-century Japan, according to Douglas Walker, managing director of the World Rock Paper Scissors Society. The Toronto-based group recently published a 208-page book titled “The Official Rock Paper Scissors Strategy Guide.”

Paper is considered the most friendly and subtle “throw,” while scissors is typical of an aggressive and clever player, the book says. Rock, meanwhile, is a weapon to fall back on for protection.

Hashiyama tweaked the rules of the game. Instead of making symbols with their hands, as is traditional, he required that the presidents of the Japanese units of both companies write down their choice, in Japanese, on a piece of paper.

While the art specialists sweated out the result in their tailored suits, a Maspro employee took the ballots to a superior for verification. Hashiyama was not present. The employee returned with the ballots. Christie’s had picked scissors. Sotheby’s picked paper. Per the game’s rules, which automatically determine a winner — paper covers rock, rock smashes scissors, scissors cut paper — Christie’s scissors triumphed over Sotheby’s paper.

Christie’s declined to say why it ultimately picked scissors. A Sotheby’s spokesman said, “Sotheby’s never comments on collections it is not offering for sale.”