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 15 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: 27%. Please also consult art. nr. 13 c for more information*.
*Online live bidding not included. For online bidders, as the auctioneer is due to pay a commission fee to his online partners, the total buyer’s premium will be as follows:
CarloBonteLive (27%), Invaluable (32%), LiveAuctioneers (32%), TheSaleroom (30%), DrouotLive (28,5%), 51BidLive (30%), Epailive (30%)
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 the sale, it is expected that they request a ‘CONDITION REPORT’ regarding all items in which they are interested. Any request in that matter should reach the auctioneer at least 48 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. No one is infallible, which is why damage may be overlooked by the auction house. This lacuna in data in a CR about the damage of any kind should not be considered as intentional by the buyer.
5. The buyer is due to verify the good(s) condition 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 oral form, are not to be referred to as fact statements. 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 emperor’s reign indicated in the mark.
– Marked … = in our opinion the item is old and could possibly be produced during the emperor’s reign 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 seller’s compensation. 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 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 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. Unless they are subject to a legal obligation, personal data are used by the auctioneer for internal applications only. Data will only be used externally if need be, and if explicitly authorized by being 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 artworks 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 the 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 processing time, 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 € 1000. The auctioneer will not accept liability for any consequences resulted from technical problems related to the telephone call during the auction. To allow processing time, telephone bids should be received at least 48 hours before the sale begins.
c. Online live bidding. For bids submitted through ‘Carlo Bonte Live’ the standard in-house premium applies (27%). In the event of bidding through an external site, an online surcharge will be added, as the auctioneer is due to pay a commission fee to his online partners: Invaluable (5%), Epailive (3%), ‘Lot-tissimo’ (3%), LiveAuctioneers (5%), the-saleroom.com (3%), 51BidLive (3%) and Drouot (1,5%). 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 that 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 credit card copy. 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 the 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 must disclose their status and 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 (January 2022), we provide a CITES certificate for each item that is either ivory-made or contains ivory elements. This certificate allows trade within Europe.
Export to a non-EU country of processed ivory or of objects containing ivory is only possible for:
– Musical instruments dating before 1975, provided that a permit has been issued by the CITES offices.
– Objects, culturally, historically, or artistically important, dating before 1947, sold to an official museum, providing that a permit has been issued by the CITES offices.
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.