Buying works of art or furniture at a public auction can often guarantee numerous advantages to the buyer, but a positive outcome is always preceded by careful analysis which takes many factors into account.

The examination of an art work and its provenance are just two important aspects of the many factors making up the selling process. Other pre-auction factors include the valuation of the work, the seller’s background, the sales description and the offers received and, during the auction itself, careful checking of the bids being made. It is essential to carefully weigh up and examine all these factors.

The ability to carefully read the description of an object, accurately evaluate its state of conservation and to know its real market value are all fundamental stages in the buying process. Sometimes the auction estimate in the catalogue doesn’t actually reflect the object’s real market value.

Once all the relevant information has been gathered the decision is taken whether to bid for the object or not, and if so how much to bid, bearing in mind that commission has to be added to the sale as the winning bids at an auction are always net of the auction house commission.