Condition
When buying or selling a lot at auction one of the most important factors is condition. A flawless piece with no damage will almost always sell for more money. When buying antiques it is therefore important to know the condition of the item you will be bidding on.
Depending on their cataloguing practice, an auctioneer may include a condition report as part of the lot listing. This tactic is increasingly being used as it is more efficient to provide information on the condition whilst you have the item in front of you rather than two weeks later when it is requested. The condition supplied at this point will often be brief and include any major flaws but may omit small details. Also, the amount of information supplied will often be in line with the value of the lot. It is not an effective use of the auctioneers time to supply an in-depth condition report for a lot worth £80. Because of this certain salerooms will not provide further information on items below a certain threshold, usually around £200. If this is the case it will usually be mentioned in the auction description or viewing information on the website.
Some auctioneers do not include a condition report as part of the listing. Instead they wait for one to be requested before supplying one. You should be able to gather a good amount of information from the catalogue description and images provided however on certain lots there may not be enough detail to give you the confidence to bid. To read more about catalogue descriptions please see my article on the topic here. If this is the case you may want to contact the auction house to request further information. Most websites will have a button on the lot listing page for you to submit a request. This will usually require you to enter your name and email so the specialist can reply to your query. Condition reports can also be requested through the live bidding platforms such as Invaluable, the-saleroom and Artsy. If this is something you require there are a couple of things to keep in mind to make sure you get the information you need.
Once a sale is online the specialist’s job is far from over. From that point onward their main responsibility is to keep on top of all of the condition enquiries that have been submitted. For certain sales, there can be hundreds of requests in the days leading up to the sale. This is most noticeable in Asian Art sales where it is not uncommon to surpass 1,000 requests for a single sale. Because of this, it is important to get your request in early. If you submit a query the day before a sale there is less chance that you are going to get a response. The next tip is to be detailed and make it clear exactly what you need. If you simply ask for ‘more information please’ then you are unlikely to get the information you require. However, if you ask ‘could I have extra images of the base and could you provide further information on the provenance’, the specialist will know exactly what you require and provide the extra information needed.
It is important that you are satisfied with the condition of the lot before you bid. In their terms and conditions, many auctioneers outline that the buyers are responsible for satisfying themselves concerning the condition of the property and that all lots are sold as seen. Therefore, if the lot is not what you expected on collection it is unlikely you will be able to return the item. The best way to avoid this is to view the lots in person before bidding on a lot. For more information on this topic please read my article on viewing at an auction.
