1. Artmark receives on consignment works of art and collector's items for their sale by auction, privately and/or through the shop. The works of art are taken into custody, evaluated and appraised at any of Artmark's national offices.
2. Placing works in custody/consignment can be made at any time during the working hours of the Evaluation and Consignment Office, as follows: Monday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturday by appointment only. For discretion and to avoid overcrowding, we recommend making an appointment in advance (as appropriate, deponenti@artmark.ro; evaluation@artmark.bg; konsignacija@artmark.hr; phone: for Romania: 021 210 30 16, 0756 066 302, 0756 163 400, 0758 056 115; for Bulgaria: +359 87 730 5826; for Croatia: -+385 97 676 0714; +385 1 3885 594). Also in order to optimize the waiting time, we recommend the persons interested in evaluating a work of art or collector's item to send us in advance, at the above e-mail address, a clear photo of the work of art, the back and the signature, as well as information about a) the size of the work and its provenance, as well as b) the contact details of the sender, following to receive shortly, by e-mail or phone, a preliminary opinion of the market value of the work and the level of acceptability in one of Artmark auctions.
3. Evaluation and appraisal for sale by auction are free of charge. A copy of the custody/consignment certificate is issued to the consignor.
4. Artmark Evaluation Department establishes the estimated range of the market value of the work (non-negotiable) and recommends to the consignor a starting price (negotiable), significantly lower than the minimum limit of the estimated range of the market value. The estimated range is determined by the evaluation committee of the consignee and reflects the collective professional opinion of the consignee’s appraisers about the value at which the current market can absorb the work, based, among other things, on the trading history of the artist’s works of art, the theme and size of the work, competition with substitutable works within the same auction, market context etc. The estimated range cannot be optimistic, but functional, which realistically ensures the sale of the work. Depending on the nature of the lot consigned, the House will display the estimate or the starting price in the auction catalogue.
5. Works eligible for sale by auction must be consigned at least 6 weeks before the date established for the auction (for reasons related to the time and steps necessary to organise the sale process). An exception is made, where regulated by the national law, for documents part of the National Archives Fund, in which case, in order to comply with the priority for purchase of the National Archives (which have a 60-day term to exercise their right of preference), consignment shall be made at least 10 weeks in advance (unless the consignor provides proof of prior notification to the National Archives). Artmark will publish on the website, usually 6 months in advance, the auction agenda for the next one- year period, so that it facilitates timely participation consignment collection sessions for works of art and collector's items in view of their sale by auction.
6. Artmark shall determine the order in which works of art received on consignment are offered for sale.
7. When works of art are sold by auction, the consignor will receive the sale price (less the sales commission; as well as, where appropriate, import duties, direct expenses in relation to the good, such as restoration, framing, frame restoration, expert appraisals of classifiable lots or at the request of the Ministry of Culture, special marketing etc., agreed under the consignment agreement), as soon as the full amount invoiced has been received from the successful bidder. The price shall be paid to the consignor: in EUR, if the sale takes place in a jurisdiction that has adopted EUR; in the national currency, if it is resident; applying the official exchange rate of the National Bank on the date of the auction. If the non-resident consignor requests that the payment be made in another currency, then, upon the consignor’s written instructions, Artmark shall exchange the amount due to the consignor in the currency indicated by it at the official exchange rate of the National Bank valid on the date of payment, and the consignor shall be paid the amount in the currency resulting from the foreign exchange.
8. The commission for the sale by auction is calculated according to the number and value of the works consigned and the performance of the work at auction by reference of the hammer price to the starting price and the estimated market value of the work. Artmark shall deduct and retain from the hammer price any direct costs related to the item, such as restoration, framing, frame reconditioning, expert appraisals of the classifiable lots or at the request of the Ministry of Culture, special marketing, customs operations, etc., agreed in advance with the consignor. In the case the art item is not sold, the consignor shall pay to the consignee the above mentioned costs before the withdrawal of the lot from consignment.
9. Any advance payments of a consigned or awarded lot of the consignor and any other previous debts the consignor may have to Artmark (such as, as the case may be: the price of some lots awarded by the consignor, the penalty fee provided for in art. 17 in the case of self-award, undue payments by Artmark etc.) shall also be deducted from the sale price. If the consignor has a prior debt to Artmark, items consigned by it can be offered for sale for a price that would cover the consignor’s debt.
10. For reasons related to the final editing of the auction catalogue (online and/or physical) and other promotional materials (online and/or physical) in relation to the auction, as well as the other costs incurred in marketing and communicating the consigned lots to the clientèle, if the consignor withdraws the item from consignment it shall incur both any direct costs related to the item, such as cleaning, restoration, framing, dedicated marketing campaigns etc., as well as the consignor's standard minimum commission for the auction in question, applied at double the starting price (but a minimum of €500). The same commission/penalty is due if Artmark has to withdraw the consigned work from the auction when a third party contests in writing and with documentation the consignor’s right to offer the work for sale and the evidence Artmark has provided prior to the auction shows, in Artmark's opinion, that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the consignor is not the owner of the consigned work or does not have the right to sell it.
11. Artmark will keep unsold lots in its exhibition or in its warehouse for a period of
between a minimum of two weeks and a maximum of four months from the date of the
auction, and will be mandated by the consignor to continue during this period to market
them, collect bids (at least at the minimum limit of the estimated market value range of
the work as stated in the auction catalogue) and sell them accordingly. In the case of a
sale by auction under the terms of this article, the consignor shall owe Artmark the same
commission as in the case of a sale by auction, as per the consignment certificate.
In the situation referred to in article 22 of the Auction Rules, i.e. explicit or implicit
refusal
of payment by the successful bidder (including situations such as: it is found that the
successful bidder cannot be contacted within the payment deadline or that his/her
contact details are not/are no longer valid, it is found that the successful bidder is not/is
no longer creditworthy or the successful bidder delays payment indefinitely, it is found
that the award has been defrauded, e.g. by using false identities or technical or electronic
schemes), the House is authorised to choose, as appropriate, the method it reasonably
considers most efficient to recover the lot awarded, including the application of penalties,
the initiation of civil or criminal proceedings, the termination of the award with damages
or the re-award to a counter-bidder at a lower price than the hammer price. In all
situations referred to in article 22 of the Auction Rules involving further steps to collect
the hammer price, the consignor shall keep the duration of the consignment and the lot
in the warehouse of the House, to allow the completion of the sale/resale, the collection of
the hammer/resale price and the transfer of the lot.
12. The consignor is required to pick up the works not sold by auction from Artmark headquarters, within a month from the auction date (similarly within 2 weeks of consignment refusal, in the case of the work received in custody but refused on consignment).
13. Given the physical limits of Artmark’s own warehouse, the consignor authorizes Artmark to transfer, after one month from the auction date, the works not picked up by the consignor, for and on behalf of the consignor, to a warehouse outside Artmark’s premises. As of one month from the date of the auction, Artmark is no longer liable to the consignor for the integrity of the consigned work, unless otherwise stipulated by the consignment certificate (similarly within 2 weeks of the refusal of consignment, in the case of work received in custody but refused on consignment). Upon collection of unsold (or unconsigned) works, which have exceeded the term of one month for consigned and unsold works and 2 weeks for those refused on consignment, the consignor shall pay the transport costs and the share of the warehouse rent, agreed by the parties as equal to the equivalent value of 10% of the minimum limit of the estimated market value of the work/month. In the event that the consignor does not pick up the unsold (or unconsigned) works within 6 months from the date of external storage, Artmark is entitled to (re)offer the work for sale in order to recover the costs of transport, storage and any other incidental costs.
14. If the authenticity of the work sold is successfully challenged by the buyer, Artmark shall refund the price received to the buyer, request and collect the sale price transferred to the buyer from the consignor and return the challenged work of art to the consignor.
15.1. In some jurisdictions, national law requires sellers to pay a resale right and the intermediary to calculate, withhold and remit the resale right to a copyright collecting society.
15.2. In Romania, in accordance with Law 8/1996 on copyright and related rights, Artmark is obliged to calculate, withhold and pay from the sale price, under the law, provided that the resale right due to authors and successors in title, as attribution, support and period of performance, falls under the scope of the said law, in the percentage rate established by law, applied to the resale price: a) from €300 to €3,000 - 5%; b) from €3,000.01 to €50,000 - 4%; c) from €50,000.01 to €200,000 - 3%; d) from €200,000.01 to €350,000 - 1%; e) from €350,000.01 to €500,000 - 0.5%; f) over €500,000 - 0.25%. No resale right is due if the resale price is below €300. Also, in no case may the resale right exceed €12,500.
15.3. In Croatia, in accordance with Law 111/2021 on copyright and related rights, Artmark is obliged to calculate, withhold and pay from the sale price, under the law, provided that the resale right due to the authors and their successors, as attribution, support and period of performance, falls under the scope of the said law, in the percentage rate established by law, applied to the resale price: a) from €500 to €50,000 - 5%; b) from €50,000.01 to €200,000 - 3%; c) from €200,000.01 to €350,000 - 1%; d) from €350,000.01 to €500,000 - 0.5%; e) over €500,000 - 0.25%. No resale right is due if the resale price is below €500. Also, in no case may the resale right exceed €12,500. 16.1. In some jurisdictions, national law requires intermediaries to calculate, withhold and remit a special tax to consignors who are also the authors of the work of art offered for sale.
16.1. In some jurisdictions, national law requires intermediaries to calculate, withhold and remit a special tax to consignors who are also the authors of the work of art offered for sale.
16.2. In Romania, if the consignor is also the author of the consigned work, Artmark shall calculate, withhold and remit the income tax, applying a rate of 10% to the gross income (the price, less the commission charged to the consignor), from which a flat rate of 40% of expenses will be deducted, in accordance with the provisions of article 73 of the Tax Code (Law no. 227/2015) and the mandatory social contributions withheld at source, namely the social security contribution (CAS) - 9.5%, the social health insurance contribution - 5.5% and the unemployment fund contribution - 0.5%.
17. Artmark shall not disclose the identity of consignors and buyers, unless they choose to disclose their identity. Consignors shall be entitled to participate in the auction where the consigned lot is put up for sale. Depositors shall not be entitled to participate in the auction, directly or through an intermediary, of the consigned lot, any such participation being null and void, with the consequence of a) the termination of the future consignment relationship with the consignor, respectively b) their obligation to pay the auction fees, in the event of award of the lot, respectively in the event of refusal to pay the successful bidder, for whatever reason. The auction house has the final right to assess that the seller has participated, including by virtue of the software/audio/video recording of the auction process.
18. Artmark retains the right to publish images and descriptions of the work of art received in custody or on consignment in any materials for promotional purposes.
19.1. The consignor warrants that it is the sole owner of and/or has the right to dispose of the consigned item by sale, that it has the necessary authority, has taken all necessary actions required under applicable law to validly enter into this agreement and to properly perform and/or comply with its obligations under this agreement, and that no further approval is required to enter into this agreement. The consignor shall make every effort to provide Artmark with all documents giving the consignor legal title to the consigned lot.
19.2. Insofar as, prior to the auction, apparently justified objections to the sale of the item are addressed to us in writing, from third parties who credibly manifest rights over the item (in the case of existing disputes over the property, partition, bailiffs' notifications etc.), Artmark will withdraw the item from the auction, the consignor bearing the costs. The consignor will also be contractually liable directly to the successful bidder in any situation leading to the subsequent cancellation of the sale, and will compensate the successful bidder for the damage caused.