Conditions of sale
1. Sales are conducted by auction according to Belgian law.
2. The international buyer is due to settle the payment of his/her purchase within 30 (thirty) days after the last auction day. According to the Anti-Money Laundering Act (Art. 10.3), any total amount of higher than € 3.000 can only be paid by cheque (issued from a Belgian bank), debit card, credit card (Visa or MasterCard) or via bank transfer.
3. In-house Buyer's Premium: 25%. Please also consult art. nr. 13 c for more information.
4. Goods are sold "as is" at the moment of the adjudication. Of all potential buyers, and especially of buyers remaining absent during the viewing days and the days of sale, it is expected that they make a request for a 'CONDITION REPORT' regarding all items in which they are interested. Any request in that matter should reach the auctioneer at least 24 hours before the start of the auction session in which the item(s) shall be sold. After this deadline, no guarantee can be given that the request will be followed up. All condition reports are carried out by us with the utmost care. Nobody is infallible, thus the lack of data considering damage of any kind in a CR, by the buyer, may not be considered as irrevocable.
5. The buyer is due to verify the condition of the good(s) by personal inspection. On request, every opportunity will be provided to the potential buyer to conduct additional expertise examination as long as the good(s) will not suffer damage. As a result, no complaint will be accepted after the adjudication. We only accept requests for condition reports no later than 48 hours before the start of the first sale day. All statements made by the auctioneer, be it in writing or in oral form, are not to be referred to as statements of fact. They are to be considered only as an opinion, given according to the best of the auctioneer's knowledge and are for guidance only. Please bear in mind that photos may slightly differ from the actual items (in terms of colours ...) due to the lighting effects. Condition reports and high-resolution zoomable images are available on request at [email protected].
Complaints related to the general condition of the goods can only be accepted by the auctioneer if the buyer presents, within a period of fifteen days after the receipt of the - paid - items, a solidly based expertise drawn up by an authorized expert in the matter. Complaints concerning any defect that was included in an existing condition report made up by the auctioneer and requested by the buyer before purchasing, can in no way be accepted.
'A special warning for our Asian customers'
Please note that we use the following standards in connection with dating a Chinese / Asian item:
- Marked … and period = in our opinion the item is genuine and made during the reign of the emperor indicated in the mark.
- Marked … = in our opinion the item is old and could possibly be produced during the reign of the emperor indicated in the mark.
- With a … mark: in our opinion the item whether dates from a later period and bears an apocryphal mark, or whether it is, or not, a recent copy.
6. If a potential buyer causes damage to an item, he/she will be proceeded against. He/she is due to inform his/her insurance company and/or lawyer of the damage done. In this event the minimum estimate price will serve as a reference to the compensation for the seller. All buyers (floor bidders, absentee bids, telephone bids and online live bidders) will be informed of the accident.
7. After adjudication, the buyer is responsible for his/her purchase(s). Good(s) cannot be collected during the auction.
8. All buyers need to provide valid identification in order to be able to participate in the bidding. After completion of the identification process, the buyer receives a paddle number. Paddle numbers will only be granted after approval by the auctioneer. This clause applies: be it whether the buyer is physically present / be it by written bid / be it by telephone bid / be it by online bidding.The paddle number is valid for the duration of the auction as a whole. A potential buyer can obtain such a paddle number during the exhibition, right before the auction or during the auction itself.
9. Each person is assumed to buy on his/her own account. In default of payment, liability to another person will not be accepted. Personal data, unless they are subject to legal obligation are used by the auctioneer for internal applications only. Data will only be used external if need be, and if explicitly authorized by be it the buyer, be it the seller.
10. Any dispute occurred during the auction can only be resolved by the acting bailiff/notary. His/her decision is definite and irrevocable.
11. According to the international rules on copyright, the law obliges us to require an extra premium on the hammer price of original art works made by a living artist or within seventy years after his/her decease. This premium is not required on a hammer price lower than € 2.000. Starting from € 2.000, the amount is specified as follows:
4% on the hammer price from € 0,01 up to € 50.000
3% on the hammer price from € 50.000,01 up to € 200.000
1% on the hammer price from € 200.000,01 up to € 350.000
0.5% on the hammer price from € 350.000,01 up to € 500.000
0.25% on the hammer price higher than € 500.000
The maximum amount of the extra premium should not exceed € 12.500.
12. Dates for collection of purchase are clearly indicated in the catalogue and on the website. Goods must be collected no later than 15 days (applied to Belgian buyers) / 30 days (applied to international buyers) after the last auction day. After this period, uncollected goods will be put in storage at the cost of the buyer. Regardless of the total amount of lots, a fixed storage fee of € 30 is charged. Besides this fixed fee, a storage fee of € 20 per lot per week will be calculated and charged as well. Collection of purchases is only possible if the auctioneer has received full payment, be it in cash, by debit/credit card or via bank transfer. The auction house is not in charge of shipment of the purchased goods. If the buyer wishes a third party to collect his/her purchase in his/her stead, the buyer needs to fill in the Authorization Form for Collection of Purchase (the form can be downloaded from our website), sign it and send it back to the auction house via email. Without this Authorization Form, no third party can collect any purchase even if it is already paid for.
13. Both Belgian and international buyers who cannot attend the auction in person or cannot be represented by an agent can arrange with the auctioneer to:
a. Participate in the bidding with an absentee (written) bid. Written bids are to be handed to the staff during the exhibition or send to the auction house via email.
In the event of identical written bids, the earliest bid received will take priority.
In the event of identical bids with floor bids during the auction, the floor bid will take priority. To allow time for processing, absentee bids should be received at least 48 hours before the sale begins.
b. Participate in the bidding by telephone. Bidding by telephone will only be accepted for good(s) with an estimate of minimum € 500. The auctioneer will not accept liability for any consequences resulted from technical problems related to the telephone call during the auction. To allow time for processing, telephone bids should be received at least 48 hoursbefore the sale begins.
c. Online live bidding. In this event, except for Drouot Live (no extra premium = 25%) buyer's premium will be 28% (instead of 25%) or 30 % (instead of 25%) as the auctioneer is due to pay a commission fee to his online partners Invaluable Live! (5%), Epailive (5%), 'Lot-tissimo' (3%), LiveAuctioneers (5%), the-saleroom.com (3%) and 51BidLive (3%). In the event of identical bids with floor bids during the auction, the floor bid will take priority. The auctioneer will not accept liability for any consequences resulted from technical problems during the auction. To allow time for processing, online bidders should register at least 48 hours before the start of the first sale day. We cannot guarantee approval for late registrations.
14. First-time buyers and online bidders are due to register on the website, via email or on the platform(s) of the auction house's online partners no later than 48 hours before the start of the first auction day. Registration should include: name, address, valid contact information, a copy of the passport or identity card and a copy of the credit card. International buyers unknown to the auctioneer are obliged to make a deposit. The amount of the deposit depends on the value of the item(s) of interest. The deposit will also figure as a pledge in case of default bidding (see Art. 17).
15. Transport/shipping. The auction house is not in charge of shipment of the purchased goods. Buyers who wish to have their purchase delivered nationally / internationally can find a list of shippers on our website.
16. Antique dealers are required to disclose their status and to give their coordinates upon receipt of their buyer number.
17. In default bidding (irresponsible bid), the item(s) will be resold at a later auction. According to Belgian law, the default buyer will be held responsible for the negative difference plus all expenses related to the default sale. If the good(s) achieve(s) a higher amount than the original hammer price, he/she will not have any rights to claim the positive difference but will be held responsible for the negative costs.
18. CITES: In accordance with international CITES-legislation, we provide an assessment report for each item that is either ivory-made or contains ivory elements. This expertise is sufficient as conforming evidence as long as the item continues to circulate within the EU. When the owner wants to export the object to a non-EU country, he/ she is obliged to contact the CITES services of his or her resort in order to obtain a legal export document. At that moment the responsibility of the auction house expires.
19. By his/her bid, the buyer accepts the conditions of sale as above without any reserve.
20. Any dispute arising out of sales shall be adjudicated by Belgian law.
Payment
By placing a bid you are entering a legal and binding contract. Upon placing a bid, you are promising to pay for your purchases in a timely manner according to terms of this agreement. Non-paying bidders will be added to the No Bid list. A non-payment fee will be added to your bill for Legal & Processing fees. A minimum of $500 will be applied. We will turn it over to our collection agency and will prosecute to the full extent of the law. Please do not bid if you do not intend to pay.
Shipping Terms
The auction house is not in charge of shipment of the purchased goods.
Collection of purchases is only possible if the auctioneer has received full payment, be it in cash, by debit/credit card or via bank transfer.
If the buyer wishes a third party to collect his/her purchase in his/her stead, the buyer needs to fill in the Authorization Form for Collection of Purchase (please see below), sign it and send it back to the auction house via email. Without this Authorization Form, no third party can collect any purchase even if it is already paid for.
Goods must be collected no later than 15 days (applied to Belgian buyers) / 30 days (applied to international buyers) after the last auction day.
After this period, uncollected goods will be put in storage at the cost of the buyer. Regardless of the total amount of lots, a fixed storage fee of € 30 is charged. Besides this fixed fee, a storage fee of € 20 per lot per week will be calculated and charged as well.
