Glossary of Terms
A
Absentee Bid
A method of bidding for those who cannot or do not wish to attend an auction. Absentee bids are also called “written,” “commission” or “order” bids and may be placed by filling out and submitting an Absentee Bid Form, or online.
Advance bid
A maximum bid placed ahead of the auction which will be executed on your behalf in response to any other bids placed on the lot. If your maximum bid is below the reserve, responsive bids may be placed by Artı Mezat Auction on behalf of the seller up to the amount of the reserve ahead of the live auction. Upon the start of the live auction, if your maximum bid has not yet been met, the auctioneer will execute the bid on your behalf at the lowest price possible and never for more than the maximum bid amount you indicate.
Appraisal
A formal evaluation of the fair market and/or insurance value of a given property. Fair market value represents what Artı Mezat Auction believes an item would bring at auction. Insurance value reflects what we believe it would cost to replace an item. Our Valuations department conducts appraisals by comparing your piece with similar, recently sold works, but no appraisal is definitive. You do not need a formal written appraisal in order to obtain a presale auction estimate.
Artist Resale Right (or Droit de Suite)
According to the European Union’s Artist’s Resale Right Directive, which has been adopted by the United Kingdom, living artists and artists who died within 70 years prior to the date of the sale are entitled to receive a resale royalty each time their art work is sold by an art market professional in the European Union or United Kingdom, subject to certain conditions.Artı Mezat Auction will collect the resale royalty due to the artists or their estates from buyers of lots with a hammer price (excluding buyer’s premium and excluding VAT) in excess of €1000. Any purchaser of a lot to which Artist’s Resale Right applies will be charged the amount of the resale royalty, which will be added to the invoice. For more information on rates, view the Artist Resale Right Chart.
As Is
Artı Mezat Auction offers all property for sale at auction “as is,” meaning that the property is sold with all existing faults and imperfections. We encourage potential buyers to inspect each item carefully before bidding.
Auctioneer
A trained professional who presides over the auction, initiating the sale of a lot by describing the item and starting the bidding. Once the first bid is made, others may offer higher bids. Bidders may be present in the saleroom, on the phone or online. Auctioneers also place bids on behalf of absentee bidders and finally determine when the highest bid has been made. If a work sells, the auctioneer announces, “sold.” If the item does not meet its reserve or there are no bidders, the auctioneer signifies this with a “pass.”
B
Bid
The amount a prospective buyer signals the auctioneer he/she would pay to buy the lot during bidding.
Bid Increment
The amount by which the auctioneer increases the bidding. In general, the auctioneer will request bids of about 10% higher than the previous bid. For instance, if the bidding opens at $5000, subsequent bids of $5500, $6000, $6500, etc. would follow. The figure is generally rounded up or down at the auctioneer’s discretion.
Bought-In
If there are no bids on a lot, or if bidding does not reach the reserve price, the lot is “bought in,” meaning it is left unsold and remains the property of the owner.
Buyer’s Premium
The amount above the hammer price that is paid as part of the total purchase price. See Artı Mezat Auction Buyer’s Premium rates here.
C
Cataloguing
Factual information about a lot offered for sale, such as the name of the artist or maker, a detailed description of the object, the year of its creation, its provenance (history of its ownership), major exhibitions in which it has appeared and publications in which it has been documented. This information is published in the auction catalogue, in both the print and online editions.
Condition Report
A written description of the condition of a work, prepared by Artı Mezat Auction specialists prior to an auction.
Conditions of Business
This important text describes the terms under which Artı Mezat Auction and the consignor agree to sell a lot to the purchaser. It is important to read the conditions carefully before bidding.
Consignor
The owner who is transferring property to Artı Mezat Auction to act as agent on his or her behalf for sale.
D
Designation
The consignor of a lot is sometimes identified through a designation line, which appears at the beginning of a catalogue entry. The designation, which appears at the discretion of the consignor, may identify the current owner by name or through a descriptive title, such as “Property of a
Distinguished European Collector.”
E
Estimate
Each lot is given a low and high estimate, representing the opinion of Artı Mezat Auction experts about the range in which the lot might sell at auction. Estimates are based on the examination of an item and recent auction records of comparable pieces. Published in our online and printed catalogue, an estimate provides prospective buyers with an important preliminary guide to value and is generally the basis for establishing the reserve price.
Exhibition History
A listing of museum or gallery exhibitions in which a given lot has appeared. Inclusion in important exhibitions may impact the value of the object.
Expert
Another term for an Artı Mezat Auction specialist who is an expert in specific fields of collecting and belongs to a department. Artı Mezat Auction specialists are often scholars with distinguished careers; many of them publish extensively in their field, lecture widely, teach or curate international exhibitions.
F
Fair Market Value
A term frequently used by appraisers referring to their judgment and opinion about an object’s likely sale price if offered by a willing seller to a willing buyer. Since the auction process is open to all bidders, a sale at auction is considered to be a measure of Fair Market Value.
Fair Warning
A warning sometimes given by the auctioneer that the hammer is about to come down on a lot. The fair warning offers one last chance to increase the bidding. If there are no subsequent bids, the auctioneer’s hammer falls and the sale is completed.
G
Gavel
Another name for the auctioneer’s hammer used to close the bidding.
Guarantee
In rare cases, Artı Mezat Auction will guarantee to pay a consignor for a lot, regardless of whether the bidding at auction reaches the reserve price. The guarantee may be provided by Artı Mezat Auction, by a third party or jointly by Artı Mezat Auction and a third party. Third parties providing all or part of a guarantee benefit financially if a guaranteed lot is sold successfully and may incur a loss if the sale is not successful.
Guarantee Line
Set in bold type in the auction catalogue, the Guarantee Line indicates key information such as the authenticity of a work, the name of the artist or maker and the origin of the object.
H
Hammer Price
The winning bid for a lot at auction. It is the price upon which the auctioneer’s hammer falls, determining the sale price, but does not include the buyer’s premium.
K
Knocked Down
An auction house term for the hammer coming down and ending the bidding, as in, “The lot was knocked down at $1 million.”
L
Lot
An individual object or group of objects offered for sale at auction as a single unit.
Lot Symbols
A small symbol found in the catalogue such as a triangle, square, or circle, listed next to the estimates. The symbol may indicate a note such as a guarantee or lack of reserve.
M
Maximum Bid
A maximum bid is the highest amount you would like to bid for a lot. It will be executed by Artı Mezat Auction at the lowest price possible, and never for more than the maximum bid amount you indicate. Please note that if two clients enter the same maximum bid, the bid which was entered first will have priority.
O
Overhead Premium
The Overhead Premium, a fee payable by all auction buyers in our global salesrooms and online sales, which will be charged at 1% of the hammer price plus any applicable local taxes, is an allocation of the overhead costs relating to our facilities, property handling and other administrative expenses. This fee and our Buyer’s Premium rates exclude local taxes and any applicable artist’s resale right.
P
Paddle
An object displaying the number assigned to a bidder when he or she registers at the auction. To place a bid, simply raise your paddle until the auctioneer acknowledges you. If you win the auction, your paddle number is recorded alongside your bid. To pay for your purchase, you will need to bring your paddle to the Payments counter.
Pass/Unsold
Terms used by the auctioneer when an item fails to reach its reserve at auction.
Photography
Every work that goes to auction is professionally photographed by Artı Mezat Auction for documentary and promotional purposes. Photographs appear in our online and print catalogues, and are an important way for buyers to identify lots that they wish to acquire.
Premium Lot
A lot that because of its value, significance, or other factors determined by Artı Mezat Auction, requires additional vetting of clients before they can bid. Prospective bidders are asked to contact the relevant Bids Department in advance of the sale to register their interest and may be asked to provide photo ID or financial references. If approved, a paddle will be issued that denotes the ability to bid on the Premium Lot.
Presale Exhibition
With specialists on-hand to answer all questions, Artı Mezat Auction puts every lot from its sales on public display in the days before an auction. Exhibitions are free and open to the public and generally close at 1 pm the day before the auction. Please see our Auctions section for dates, times and locations.
Provenance
An important part of the authentication process, provenance establishes the chain of ownership back (if possible) to the date an item was created. Provenance can significantly impact the value of an object.
Q
Quick Bid
After placing an initial bid on your desired lot, you will be presented with the option to place a ‘Quick Bid’. This is a faster way to increase your bid to the next increment. This can be executed on the Artı Mezat Auction app by holding down and swiping the ‘Quick Bid’ button all the way to the right of the screen, or by clicking the ‘Quick Bid’ button and confirming your bid increase on arti-mezat.com Upon completion, your bid will be placed. ‘Quick Bid’ is only available during the ‘advance bidding’ portion of a live auction. Quick Bid is available for Online Only and Advance Bidding sales only.
R
Reserve or Reserve Price
Never formally disclosed, the reserve price is the confidential minimum price agreed upon between the consignor and Artı Mezat Auction. Reserves must be set at or below the low estimate, and if bidding ends before the reserve is reached, the property will not be sold.
Results
Immediately following every auction, results are posted online in the currency of the auction location. Customarily, results include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium and overhead premium.
S
Sale Number
Every auction at Artı Mezat Auction is given a unique number to distinguish it from previous and subsequent sales of similar properties. The initial letter of the sale number stands for the auction location:, “TR” stands for ISTANBUL, etc. The sale number appears in every e-catalogue and on the cover of print catalogues, among other places.
Seller’s Commission
A commission paid by the consignor to Artı Mezat Auction, which is deducted from the hammer price. For most auctions, including those in our Fine Arts division, Artı Mezat Auction standard seller’s commission is 10% of the hammer price.
Specialist
An expert in a specific field of collecting who belongs to a department. Artı Mezat Auction specialists are often scholars with distinguished careers; many of them publish extensively in their field, lecture widely, teach or curate international exhibitions.
Starting Bids
Each lot has a starting bid, which is the lowest possible bid you can place on a lot. You may bid at or above the starting bid (see above for how to place a Maximum Bid). Please note that leaving a bid at the starting bid may not necessarily mean you have met the reserve, though you will be notified if you are the leading bidder or have been outbid. Please note that Artı Mezat Auction reserves the right to lower the starting bid prior to the start of the live auction.
T
Telephone Bidding
Many buyers prefer to bid via phone, using an Artı Mezat Auction representative who is present at the auction to relay bids to the auctioneer on their behalf.
V
Valuation
A detailed description and current value of property prepared by Artı Mezat Auction staff. Valuations, which differ from auction estimates, are used for a variety of needs, including charitable contribution, collateral loans, estate taxes, estate planning and insurance.