INFORMATION FOR BUYERS

1. Introduction. The following informative notes are intended to assist Buyers, particularly those inexperienced or new to our salerooms. This sale is conducted on our printed Terms and Conditions which are readily available for inspection and are included in this catalogue. Our staff will be happy to help you if there is anything you do not fully understand.

2. Estimates. Estimates are designed to help buyers gauge what sort of sum might be involved for the purchase of a particular lot. The lower estimate may represent the reserve price and certainly will not be below it. Estimates are prepared some time before the sale and may be altered by announcement before the sale. They are in no sense definitive.

3. Buyer’s Premium. This is a charity sale so there is no Buyer’s Premium on the hammer price of each lot purchased.

4. VAT. (*) indicates that VAT is payable by the purchaser at the standard rate (presently 20 per cent) on the hammer price as well as being an element in the buyer’s premium. This imposition of VAT is likely to be because the seller is registered for VAT within the European Union and is not operating the Dealers Margin Scheme or because VAT is due at 20 per cent on importation into the UK. The double symbol (**) indicates that the lot has been imported from outside the European Union and the present position is that these lots are liable to a reduced rate of VAT (5 per cent) on the gross lot price (i.e. both the hammer price and the buyer’s premium). Lots which appear without either of the above symbols indicate that no VAT is payable on the hammer price. This is because such lots are sold using the Auctioneers’ Margin Scheme and it should be noted that the VAT included within the Premium is not recoverable as input tax.

5. Descriptions and Conditions. Condition reports are provided on the Dreweatts site or upon request. The absence of a report does not imply that a lot is without imperfections. The detail in a report will reflect the estimated value of the lot, and large numbers of such requests received shortly before the sale may not receive a response to all lots. Members of staff are not trained restorers or conservators and, particularly for higher value lots, you should obtain an opinion from such a professional. We recommend that you always view a lot in person.

6. Export of goods. Buyers intending to export goods should ascertain (a) whether an export licence is required and (b) whether there is any specific prohibition on importing goods of that character because, e.g. they may contain prohibited materials such as ivory. Ask us if you need help.

7. Bidding. Bidders may be required to register before the sale commences and lots will be invoiced to the name and address on the registration form. Some form of identification may be required if you are unknown to us. Please enquire in advance about our arrangements for telephone bidding.

8. Commission bidding. Commission bids may be left with the auctioneers indicating the maximum amount to be bid. They will be executed as cheaply as possible having regard to the reserve (if any) and competing bids. If two buyers submit identical commission bids the auctioneers may prefer the first bid received. Please enquire in advance about our arrangements for the leaving of commission bids by telephone or FAX.

9. Methods of Payment. The following methods of payment are acceptable. Debit Cards drawn on a UK bank, there is no additional charge for purchases made with these cards. Bank transfer direct into our bank account, all transfers must state the relevant sale number, lot number and your bid / paddle number. If transferring from a foreign currency, the amount we receive must be the total due in pounds sterling (after currency conversion and the deduction of any bank charges). Our bank details can be found on the front or your invoice or in the sale catalogue under ‘Important Notices’. Sterling cash payments of up to £12,000 (subject to money laundering regulations) All major UK issued credit cards registered to a UK billing address with the exception of American Express and Diners Club. A surcharge of 3 per cent is payable on all payments made by credit cards. Sterling personal cheques drawn on a UK bank account and made payable to ‘Prince’s Trust Trading Ltd’. It will be necessary to allow at least six working days for the cheque to clear before collecting your purchases.

10. Collection and storage. Please note what the Terms and Conditions state about collection and storage. It is important that goods are paid for and collected promptly. Any delay may involve the buyer in paying storage charges.

11. Droit de suite royalty charges. From 14th February 2006 all UK art market professionals (which includes, but is not limited to; auctioneers, dealers, galleries, agents and other intermediaries) are required to collect a royalty payment for all works of art that have been produced by living artists. This payment is only calculated on qualifying works of art which are sold for a hammer price more than the UK sterling equivalent of EURO 1,000 – the UK sterling equivalent will fluctuate in line with prevailing exchange rates. It is entirely the responsibility of the buyer to acquaint himself with the precise EURO to UK Sterling exchange rate on the day of the sale in this regard, and the auctioneer accepts no responsibility whatsoever if the qualifying rate is different to the rate indicated. All items in this catalogue that are marked with .. are potentially qualifying items, and the royalty charge will be applied if the hammer price achieved is more than the UK sterling equivalent of EURO 1,000.The royalty charge will be added to all relevant buyers’ invoices, and must be paid before items can be cleared. All royalty charges are passed on to the Design and Artists Copyright Society (‘DACS’), no handling costs or additional fees with respect to these charges will be retained by the auctioneers. The royalty charge that will be applied to qualifying items which achieve a hammer price of more than the UK sterling equivalent of EURO 1,000, but less than the UK sterling equivalent of EURO 50,000 is 4 per cent. For qualifying items that sell for more than the UK sterling equivalent of EURO 50,000 a sliding scale of royalty charges will apply – for a complete list of the royalty charges and threshold levels, please see www.dacs.org.uk. There is no VAT payable on this royalty charge.

The property offered in this Sale and listed in this auction catalogue (the “Catalogue”) (as that property is amended by any posted notices or oral announcements during the Sale) (the “Property”) will be sold by Prince’s Trust Trading Limited, a company registered in England and Wales under number 3161821. Prince’s Trust Trading Limited is a company which has covenanted to pay its net profits each year to The Prince’s Trust, a charity registered with the Charity Commissioners under number 1079675 in England and Wales and SC041198 in Scotland.

These terms govern the contract for sale (the “Contract for Sale”) of any lot by Prince’s Trust Trading Limited (the “Seller”) to the Purchaser (as defined at paragraph 6(c) below).

Any questions in relation to the auction should be directed to the Seller and not to the auctioneer, who serves merely as auctioneer for the Seller in conducting the Sale and participates on the following terms and conditions which govern the sale of all the Property:

1. The Seller assumes no risk, liability or responsibility for the authenticity or the authorship of any of the Property (that is, the identity of the creator or the period, culture, source or origin, as the case may be, with which the creation of any property is identified herein); the Property is sold with all faults and imperfections and errors of description; the Seller does not make or give and does not agree to make or give any representation of fact, undertaking, obligation, guarantee, contractual promise or warranty or undertake any duty of care of any kind or nature, expressed or implied, in relation to any description (which shall include inter alia physical condition, size, quality, rarity, importance, genuineness, attribution, authenticity or provenance) of any of the Property or any estimate in relation to it, nor in relation to satisfactory quality of the Property or its fitness for purpose. No statement made in the Catalogue, at any time before, during or after the Sale in any Sale invoice or elsewhere, will be deemed such a representation of fact, undertaking, obligation, guarantee, contractual promise or warranty.

2. Any of the Property may be withdrawn by the Seller at any time before the Sale.

3. Unless otherwise announced by the auctioneer at the time of the Sale, all bids are per lot as described in the Catalogue.

4. The Seller reserves the right to reject a bid from any bidder. Property may be offered subject to reserves. In the event of any dispute between bidders, the auctioneer will have sole and final discretion either to determine the successful bidder or to re-offer and resell the lot in dispute. If any dispute arises after the Sale, the Sale records of the Seller will be conclusive in all respects.

5. If the auctioneer determines that any opening bid is not commensurate with the value of the particular lot offered, he may reject the same and withdraw that lot from Sale, and if, having acknowledged an opening bid, he decides that any advance thereafter is insufficient, he may reject the advance.

6. The sale of any lot is complete and the Contract for Sale is made when the auctioneer announces its completion by the fall of the hammer. Thereupon, the highest bidder acknowledged by the auctioneer for any lot is the purchaser (the “Purchaser”) of that lot (the “Lot”) and is contractually bound to:
(a) assume the risk and responsibility of the Lot;
(b) sign a confirmation of purchase of the Lot; and
(c) pay the full amount of his highest bid for the Lot (the “Purchase Price”).

7. Title to the Lot remains in and is retained by the Seller until the Purchase Price and all other sums payable by the Purchaser to the Seller have been paid in full, and received in cleared funds by the Seller. The Seller is entitled to withhold possession of the Lot from the Purchaser until this time. The Seller is only required to hold the Lot for 90 days from the date of the auction, after which, if the Purchaser has not collected or arranged for collection of the Lot, the Seller may, at its sole discretion, send the Lot to external storage for the account and at the risk and expense of the Purchaser. Any charges associated with the transport and storage if the Lot are to be borne by the Purchaser and will be added to the Purchase Price.

8. Risk in the Lot passes to the Purchaser at the fall of the auctioneer’s hammer in respect of the Lot. The Seller will thereafter not be responsible for the Lot and the Purchaser will indemnify the Seller and keep the Seller fully indemnified from and against all claims, proceedings, costs, expenses and losses arising in respect of any injury, loss and damage caused to the Lot after the fall of the auctioneer’s hammer until the Purchaser obtains full title to it.