PrepTest 133, Section 1, Question 18
Principle: Even if an art auction house identifies(63 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(10 more words not shown)
- AAn authentic work(26 more words not shown)
- BAlthough pottery that(29 more words not shown)
- CThe stated policy(26 more words not shown)
- DSome Healy's staff(23 more words not shown)
- EWithout consulting anyone(23 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Was the false description an honest mistake, or was Healy's trying to mislead bidders?
That difference matters under this principle. Calling a catalog entry an opinion doesn't protect an auction house when the description is a deliberate attempt to mislead. But finding out that the vase is a modern reproduction only establishes that the catalog got its age wrong. It doesn't, by itself, establish why.
What we’re looking for
Maybe someone sincerely misidentified the vase. To justify applying this particular rule, we need evidence of deliberate deception. I'd look for a fact showing that Healy's used the false description on purpose to influence bidders, rather than merely getting the date wrong.
Working the answers
- A
This gives the auction house a possible financial motive. An old vase might bring in far more money than a modern copy. But having something to gain doesn't establish that Healy's deliberately misstated the age. The auction house could make a profitable mistake honestly. A raises a suspicion without showing the intent as directly as E does.
- B
Knowledgeable collectors declining to bid might make us wonder what they noticed about the vase. It doesn't tell us why Healy's described it as old. Even if every expert recognized the reproduction immediately, the catalog writer might still have made an honest error. We need the auction house's purpose, not the collectors' bidding behavior.
- C
Including a date would violate this stated policy, but violating an internal policy and deliberately misleading bidders are different things. Someone could carelessly include an age estimate despite the policy and sincerely believe that estimate. C doesn't establish the feature the principle requires us to show.
- D
Some employees want independent experts to certify descriptions. That is a view about what the catalog's standards should be. It doesn't establish what was done with this vase or whether the people responsible intended to mislead bidders. We can't turn a proposed safeguard into evidence of deliberate deception in this case.
- ECorrect
Healy's supplied the old date merely to raise the price, without consulting anyone qualified to authenticate the vase. That ties the description to a deliberate effort to influence what bidders would pay. The date wasn't presented because an expert had identified the vase as old; it was used as a way to make it more valuable at auction.
This is the evidence of purpose we were missing. Together with the false age already given in the application, E supports applying the rule about deliberately misleading descriptions. Labeling the catalog entries opinions doesn't excuse that conduct under the principle.
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