circumstances, the catalogue descriptions and condition reports may serve
as reference about certain defects in the Auction Properties. Nevertheless,
the Bidder should note that the Auction Properties may have other defects not
expressly stated in the catalogue or condition reports.
4. The information concerning any Auction Property provided to the Bidder,
including any forecast information (written or verbal), and any information,
rules or other reports, commentaries or estimated values contained in the
catalogues, are not statements of fact, but rather statements of the opinions
held by the Company. Such information may be revised at the sole discretion of
the Company from time to time.
5. Neither the Company nor the Seller gives any representations or warranties
as to whether any Auction Property is subject to any copyright or whether the
Buyer has bought the copyright in any Auction Property.
6. Subject to Articles 5(1) to 5(5) and the specifi c exemptions contained in Article
6 hereof, the catalogue descriptions and condition reports are made by the
Company in a reasonable and prudent manner (consistent with the provisions
relating to the Company as the Auction Agent) based on (1) the information
provided by the Seller to the Company; (2) academic and technical knowledge (if
any); and (3) generally accepted opinions of relevant experts.
Article 6 Exemption of Liability Toward the Buyer and Limitations
1. Subject to Article 5 and Articles 6(1) and 6(4) hereof, the Company or the Seller
shall not:
(1) be liable for any errors or omissions in the information provided by the
Company to the Bidder, whether verbally or in writing, regardless of whether
due to negligence or otherwise;
(2) give any guarantee or warranty to the Bidder, and any implied warranties or
conditions other than the express warranties given by the Seller to the Buyer
through the Company are excluded (except where it is provided in law that such
liabilities may not be exempted);
(3) be liable to any Bidder for any actions or omissions in respect of any matter
relating to the auction or sale of any Auction Property by the Company (regardless
of whether due to negligence or otherwise).
2. Unless the Company owns the Auction Property to be sold, it shall not be liable
for any breach of these Conditions by the Seller.
3. Without prejudice to Article 6(1) hereof, the amount of any claim that a Bidder
may lodge against the Company or the Seller shall be limited to the Hammer
Price of the Auction Property and the Buyer’s Commission. Under no
circumstance shall the Company or the Seller bear any consequential losses
incurred by the Buyer.
4. Article 6 hereof does not exempt or restrict the liability of the Company for any
fraudulent misrepresentation made by the Company or the Seller, nor for any
personal injury or death arising due to the negligence of or an omission by the
Company or the Seller.
Article 7 Catalogue and Other Descriptions of the Auction Property
All statements made by the Company about an Auction Property in the catalogue or
in the condition reports, or separately made verbally or in writing, are statements of
opinion only, and shall not be relied upon as statements of fact. Such statements do
not constitute any representation, warranty or assumption of liability by the Company
in any form. The relevant defects and restorations mentioned in the catalogue
or the condition report for an Auction Property are for guidance only and shall be
reviewed in person by the Bidder or a representative with the relevant knowledge.
The absence of a reference to the above-mentioned information does not mean that
the Auction Property is completely free from defects or has never been restored.
Furthermore, even if reference is made to a specifi c defect, this does not mean there
are no other defects.
Where there is a discrepancy between the tone, colour, texture or shape of an
Auction Property in the catalogue and/or in any other manner of illustration, video
recording or publicity materials and that of the original, due to printing, photographic
or other such technical reason, the actual Auction Property shall prevail.
Bibliographies cited in any description of an Auction Property by the Company, its
employees or its agents are for the Bidder’s reference only. The Company will not
provide the originals or photocopies of the bibliographic publications or other such
materials, and reserves the right to revise the cited descriptions.
Article 8 Reserve and Estimated Price
A Reserve is set for all of the Company’s Auction Properties, unless it is indicated
or stated that an Auction Property is not subject to such a Reserve. In general, the
Reserve is not higher than the low Estimated Price announced or published before
the auction by the Company. If a Reserve has not been set for an Auction Property,
unless there already have been bids, the Auctioneer shall have the right, at his or her
discretion, to decide the starting price, which, however, may not be higher than the
low Estimated Price of the Auction Property before the auction.
Under no circumstance shall the Company bear any liability in the event that the
bids for an Auction Property fail to reach the Reserve at the auction held by the
Company. If the bids for an Auction Property are lower than the Reserve, the
Auctioneer shall have the right, at his or her discretion, to sell the Auction Property
at a price lower than the Reserve. However, under such a circumstance, the amount
that the Company shall pay the Seller shall be the amount that the Seller would have
received had the Auction Property been sold at the Reserve.
An Estimated Price is estimated some time before the Auction Date, is not a
defi nitive selling price, and is not legally binding. No Estimated Price may serve as
a forecast of the Hammer Price for an Auction Property, and the Company has the
right to revise from time to time Estimated Price(s) that have already been made.
Article 9 Bidding at Auction
Bidders shall bid through the following methods:
1. The Bidder shall attend the auction in person, and complete the registration and
pay a bid deposit before obtaining a paddle as required, subject to Article 10 to
Article 12 hereof; or
2. Subject to Article 15 hereof, the Bidder may appoint the Company in writing
to bid on his or her behalf by a duly completed and signed Telephone Bidding
Form of the Company (“Telephone Bidding Form”); or
3. The Bidder shall adopt the Live Auction Platform which authorized by the
Company.
Article 10 Bidder Registration
Where the Bidder is an individual, he or she shall fi ll in and sign before the Auction
Date the registration documents on the strength of an identity document with
photo issued by the government (such as a resident identity card or passport),
and provide proof of his or her current address (e.g. a utility bill or bank statement);
where the Bidder is a company or other organization, it shall fill in and sign the
registration documents on the strength of its valid incorporation document, proof
of shareholding and lawful authorization document, and collect a paddle before the
Auction Date. The Company may request the Bidder to present banking information
for making payment or other proof of fi nancial standing.
Article 11 Paddle
The Company may, depending on the auction conditions and auction method,
announce before the Auction Date the conditions and procedures for obtaining a
paddle, including but not limited to formulating the qualifi cation conditions necessary
for Bidders to carry out the procedures for obtaining a paddle.
The Company solemnly reminds the Bidder that a paddle is the sole proof for the
Bidder to participate in the bidding in person. The Bidder shall keep the same in
safe custody and may not lend the same to other persons. In the event it is lost,
the Bidder shall promptly carry out the loss report procedures by way of a written
method approved by the Company.
All of the bidding acts carried out during the auction by a paddle holder, regardless
of whether he or she has been appointed by the Bidder, shall be deemed as having
been done by the paddle registrant himself or herself, and the Bidder shall bear the
legal liability for the acts of such person, unless the paddle registrant has himself
or herself carried out with the Company the procedures for reporting the loss of a
paddle by way of a written method approved by the Company, and the paddle in
question is declared void by the Auctioneer on the spot.
Article 12 Bid Deposit
When the Bidder participates in the Company’s auction, he or she shall pay a
bid deposit before collecting the paddle. The amount of the bid deposit shall be
announced by the Company before the Auction Date, and the Company has
the right to reduce or waive the bid deposit. If the Bidder fails to buy an Auction
Property and does not have any amounts owing to the Company, its divisions,
affiliates, subsidiaries or parent, or China Guardian, its divisions, affiliates,
subsidiaries or parent, the entire amount of the bid deposit shall be refunded to the
Bidder without interest within 14 working days after conclusion of the auction. If the
Bidder becomes the Buyer, the bid deposit shall automatically be transformed into