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Certificates of Attribution!

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A recent painting listed at auction stated that the successful bidder would receive a Certificate of Attribution. Really? What does this mean? My recommendation? THINK TWICE BEFORE BIDDING!

When purchasing artworks you may wish to read the following information which is readily available on several websites:

This is the conventional way of describing the relation between the artist and the work of art.

  1. Pablo Picasso: The auction house believes this is an original work by the artist
  2. Pablo Picasso (replica): The auction house believes that the artist him/herself made this work as a replica of their own, previous original.
  3. Pablo Picasso (attributed to): The auction house finds it likely that this is an original work, but is not prepared to guarantee this.
  4. Pablo Picasso (his studio): The auction house believes that the work was made in the artist’s studio and possibly under their supervision.
  5. Pablo Picasso (his circle): The auction house believes that the work was made by another artist but during the lifetime of the named artist and in their manner.
  6. Pablo Picasso (follower of): The auction house believes that the work was done in the manner of the named artist, during their lifetime or later.
  7. Pablo Picasso (in the manner of): The auction house believes that the work is done in the manner of the named artist but after their lifetime.
  8. Pablo Picasso (after): The auction house believes that the work was made by another artist, based on an original work by the named artist.

A Cautionary Tale #3

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Taking My Own Advice…

It is so easy to purchase an item online, that sometimes I forget the importance of logistics and remembering past mistakes. This is what happened to me last month.

I placed an absentee bid with the auction house Uccle-St-Job in Belgian for a ceramic vase knowing that I would have to send a wire transfer. I asked the auction house for a shipping quote with full insurance. They provided me a quote and I sent the wire transfer (at a cost of $25) with an additional 25 Euros to cover any hidden bank fees). I received an email from a staff member (their email correspondence was anonymous so I did not know who I was responding to) that insurance was not possible and that I should arrange shipping with FedEx.

I found a UPS store in Uccle-St-Job and emailed the auction house if they could deliver the package there. I did not receive a response. I telephoned the auction house as was instructed to call back and ask for Isabel. I did so the following day. Isabel said that insurance was indeed possible and that she would send me a quote.

After being told I had been misinformed that I could use PayPal to pay the additional shipping cost I had to make second wire transfer. Again I sent the wire transfer (at a cost of $25) with an additional 25 Euros to cover any hidden bank fees.

Needless to say I received yet another unsigned email indicating that insurance was not possible and that the auction house would safely pack and ship the vase. Having little recourse I agreed. Luckily the vase arrived intact.

As a follow-up I emailed the manager of the auction house indicating my displeasure with the service and did not receive a response. I found this particularly distressing especially since the email was in French & English in the event there was a language barrier.

In this transaction I do not fault the auction house, but myself. I have witnessed the transformation of the European auction houses over the past 20 years. Some auction houses are entrenched in the past where customer service is either poor or non-existent. There is little or no effort to facilitate payment and shipping options. Email conversations are anonymous and misleading. Language is used as a barrier to effective communication.

Unless there is a compelling need to do so, my recommendation is to purchase only from auction houses that accept online payment or accept credit cards, who provide in-house shipping services, or can recommend a reliable shipper that also accepts online payment or credit cards.

A Cautionary Tale #2

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Absentee Bids, continued

I will share a personal, most unfortunate experience with an absentee bid. I am sorry to say this actually occurred and has negatively affected my trust with certain auction houses.

I placed an absentee with an auction house in France for a vase as described in the prior scenario. However, this time, I had the opportunity to watch the live auction online. The lot where I had placed the absentee bid was auctioned and sold for several hundred dollars less than my absentee bid. I was quite pleased! That is, until I received the “facture” or “bordereau” from the auction house. The invoice was 100 Euros less than the absentee bid I placed! I contacted the auction house attempting to address the situation, but, I did not receive a response. Unaware of any other recourse I paid the invoice.

After that experience I no longer submit absentee bids if the bid amount is shared with the auction house. A lesson learned…

A Cautionary Tale #1

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Absentee Bids

If you ever been unsure about leaving an absentee bid with an auction house your concern is justified. There are two ways to leave an absentee bid: 1. Place an absentee bid directly with an auction house, or 2. Place an absentee bid with a third party online bidding platform such as Interencheres, Drouot Live, Invaluable, Live Auctioneers, The Saleroom or Bidsquare.

Placing an absentee bid directly with an auction house in France is courting disaster. My experience, is that even if the live bidding realizes an auction price lower than your absentee bid the auction house will invoice you for one bid increment less than your absentee bid. For example, if you place an absentee bid for 1500 Euros for a Daum vase and the final bid onsite is 900 Euros, the auction house will invoice you for 1400 Euros plus their commission fee. Unfortunately this has happened repeatedly to me and confirmed by my French friends overseas.

My recommendation is do not place absentee bids directly with an auction house unless they confirm how absentee bids are processed.

An option is to place an absentee bid with a third party online bidding platform. This is a better option because “in most cases” the absentee bid is confidential and is not shared with the auction house. The exception that I am aware of is that an absentee bid placed on Drouot Live is shared with the auction house.