1.1. VDK: Hôtel de Ventes Vanderkindere, a public limited company under Belgian law, which has its head office at Chaussée d'Alsemberg 685-687, 1180 Brussels, Belgium and is registered in the companies register under reference number 0467.241.377.
1.2. Buyer: any person or corporate body person willing to participate by any means whatsoever in a Sale organised by VDK.
1.3. Seller: any person or corporate body instructing VDK to publicly sell items placed in its possession, under its own name of VDK, on the Seller’s behalf.
1.4. Lot: the property offered for sale in a sale organised by VDK.
1.5. Auction: the true ascertainment of the highest bid for the Lot offered by way of a sale.
1.6. Adjudication price: the price at which a Lot is awarded to the Buyer.
1.7. Sale: the public auction organised by VDK.
1.8. Finalised Sale: the conclusion of bidding for a Lot resulting in full payment due being made to VDK and the removal of the Lot by the Buyer, as well as VDK’s payment of the sum due to the Seller.
2.1. Unless VDK expressly agrees in writing to exclude their application, these general terms and conditions shall automatically apply to all dealings of whatever nature between VDK, the Seller, and the Buyer, and shall imply full and unreserved acceptance of these terms and conditions which the Buyer and the Seller acknowledge having read.
2.2. In handing over the goods to VDK, with a view to having them sold by public tender, the Seller is deemed to have accepted these terms and conditions.
2.3. By taking part in an event organised by VDK, the Buyer is deemed to have accepted these general terms and conditions.
2.4. Where VDK is not seen to rely on general terms and conditions at a given time, this cannot be interpreted as a waiver on its part to subsequently avail itself of the said terms and conditions.
The 'Buyer
3.1. Persons wishing to be Buyers must give VDK their name, address, telephone number and possibly their identity card or passport numbers, as well as any further information, particularly bank details, which may be requested by VDK.
3.2. Any Buyer is deemed, vis-à-vis VDK, to act in his own name, even for the Lots that he has acquired as an agent. Likewise, any Buyer who acquires a Lot and requests that it be invoiced to a third party remains personally and jointly liable for his payment towards VDK.
3.3. Where there are multiple Buyers for a single Lot, they shall be deemed to be jointly and severally liable for the whole purchase with regard to VDK.
4. Sale
4.1. The Buyer making the highest bid gains the Lot at the auction price and must irrevocably meet his or its commitment to VDK and to the Seller..
4.2. In the event of a dispute regarding the bidding, only the bailiff or the auctioneer present shall be qualified to decide who the Lot is to be awarded to or, where applicable, that the Lot is to be reauctioned.
4.3. As soon as a Lot is awarded to a Buyer, the risks are fully transferred to him and he is required to pay the price thereof. The Buyer acquires ownership of the Lot only after payment of the full amount due to VDK and the removal of the acquired Lot.
4.4. Any Finalised Sale results in a contract between the Buyer and the Seller, whereby VDK acts only as an agent.
4.5. The Buyer shall be entitled to issue buying orders in advance of the Sale. However, the mandate must reach VDK at the latest 24 hours before the Sale begins, unless expressly otherwise agreed by VDK. The instructions given to VDK must, in the latter’s opinion, be clear and unambiguous; if this is not the case, VDK shall have the right to refuse the assignments. If two orders to buy relate to the same Lot for the same amount, the first placed order shall take precedence.
4.6. Buyers wishing to participate in the Sale via online auction software shall be permitted to do so. In the event of participation in a Sale on an independent online platform linked to VDK, the Buyer shall be deemed to be aware of these general terms and conditions applying generally to all online Buyers participating in a Sale. In the event of identical auctions, an auction in the room will always take priority. In addition, VDK rejects all liability in the event of technical problems occurring during the Sale (loss, faults or interruption of the internet connection, the online auction software or the computer) which are disadvantageous to the Buyer.
4.7. The Buyer wishing to do so can request of VDK that he or it participates in the Sale by telephone. In the event of participation in the Sale by telephone, the Buyer must confirm his participation in the Sale by letter, fax or e-mail, stating his identity and providing any information that may be requested by VDK, which reserves the right in particular to ask for bank details. Furthermore, in the event of participation in the Sale by telephone, the Buyer undertakes to bid at least the catalogue low-end estimate, and VDK reserves the right to request a guarantee equivalent to this low estimate as stated in the catalogue, prior to the sale. If VDK cannot make telephone contact with the requester during the Auction, the latter accepts that VDK will take bids on its behalf up to the low-end estimate shown in the catalogue, or up to the amount that the requester has indicated in its written request. Under no circumstances can VDK be held responsible for the Buyer’s mistakes when quoting the number of the Lot he or it wishes to acquire or his telephone number, nor for any technical problem linked, for example, to the connection, the network or the telephone line.
4.8. VDK shall be entitled, at any time, to refuse a bid during a Sale, to have the auction proceed as it sees fit, to award a Lot subject to reservations, not to auction a Lot shown in the catalogue, to combine Lots, to modify the chronological order of the Lots to be auctioned, or to withdraw a Lot from the Sale, if it does not reach the reserve price.
5. Price
5.1. The auction price, plus sundry costs and, where applicable, the resale right, are payable by the Buyer.
5.2. The selling costs are 25% of the auction price and 30% for the Asian Art Sales.
5.3. The exit right applies to each Lot acquired. It amounts to € 1 for catalogued sales and € 5 for uncatalogued sales.
5.4. In the event of an online sale, additional costs will be invoiced to the Buyer in the amount of 1.5% of the auction price, when the Buyer participates in the Sale and acquires a Lot via the online platform Drout Digital, and 5% of the auction price when the Buyer participates in the Sale and acquires a Lot via the online platform Invaluable.
5.5. Prices shown are inclusive of VAT. All sales are subject to the special margin scheme, non-deductible VAT (s. 4, art. 58, VAT Code).
5.6. In accordance with Articles XI. 175 and XI. 176 of the Commercial Code, a resale right payable by the Buyer may be due in certain circumstances. The resale right applies to artists from member countries of the European Union and from countries outside the European Union where, according to domestic law, the resales right applicable, lasting up to 70 years after the year of the artist's death, for Lots for which the auction price is at least €2,000. The resale right is collected by VDK and passed on to the bodies authorised to collect these, as provided for by current legislation. This is calculated as follows, with the total amount not exceeding €12,500:
If, after the Sale, it turns out that a Lot not advertised as such is subject to the resale right in accordance with the law, VDK will be legally obliged to claim the resale right from the Buyer at the time of payment, removal or even after removal. All Buyers expressly waive any recourse of any kind and irrevocably undertake to pay the resale right on VDK’s first request.
6. Payment
6.1. Invoices are payable in cash, without discount. The full amount owed by the Buyer must be paid in euros, into one of the accounts in VDK’s name. Invoices shall be deemed to be validly sent to the Buyer’s address as stated by the latter, who must also notify VDK of any change of address.
6.2. In accordance with Section 2, Article 67 of the Law of September 18, 2017, regarding the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing and limits set on cash payments, VDK accepts cash payments of up to 3,000 euros (three thousand euros). If the total amount to be paid by the Buyer is above €3,000, the Buyer may pay this amount in cash and the balance must be paid electronically (Bancontact, Visa, Master Card and Union Pay) or by bank transfer. In the latter case, the Lot will only be delivered after receipt of the outstanding amount.
6.3. Payment is due within 15 working days from the date the invoice is issued.
6.4. In the event of non-payment within the period as stated in section 6.3., the Buyer shall be liable as of right and without prior notice, to late payment interest of 1.5% per month from the due date of the invoice until full payment, and fixed compensation of 10% of the principal sum with a minimum of €50 as fixed damages.
6.5. Any funds that VDK receives from the Buyer will always be used to discharge the Buyer’s oldest debt to VDK.
6.6. Any dispute by the Buyer relating to an invoice must reach VDK by post, within ten calendar days of the date of issue of the invoice concerned. Otherwise, the amount of this invoice will be deemed to have been accepted without reservation and will be due in full.
7.1. To avoid mistakes, Lots cannot be removed during the Sale.
7.2. Lots are collected at VDK premises within four working days of full payment being made for the Lot. In the event of failure to pay the full amount due, VDK shall be entitled to automatically suspend the Buyer’s right to take away the Lot concerned, without prior notice.
7.3. In the event of failure to collect the Lot within the time limit set in section 7.2., the Lot will be stored at the Buyer’s expense.
7.4. VDK takes the greatest care of the Lots awarded. However, neither VDK nor any of its agents can, whatever the case, be held responsible for any damage, loss or damage whatsoever to the Lots stored after the Sale, these being at the Buyer’s risk from the moment of the successful bid.
7.5. The costs of transporting Lots shall be borne by the Buyer, and the latter shall be responsible for this carriage. VDK cannot be held responsible for any damage, loss or damage which may be due to the storage, packaging, handling or transport of the Lots.
7.6. VDK does bear any liability with regard to the services provided or carried out by third parties, nor with regard to invoicing for these.
8.1. In the absence of payment within the period as stated in section 6.3 or in the event of failure to collect the Lot within the period laid down in section 7.2, VDK shall, having given formal notice by recorded delivery, be entitled to take one or several of the following measures, at its discretion and subject to all other rights and possible action:
9. Description of the Lots
9.1. All Lots are second-hand goods sold in the condition in which they are at the time of the Sale, with their defects and imperfections.
9.2. Accidents are indicated by (*) and restorations by (**). However, the absence of any details on the condition of a Lot does not imply that the item is in good condition or is free from damage or defects, or has not been restored. Additionally, catalogue illustrations are merely given by way of identifying different Lots.
9.3. Terms used in the catalogue reflect general usage in the art trade in Belgium, and are presumed and intended to be fully understood by the Buyer.
9.4. All descriptions or explanations of a Lot appearing in the catalogue, a brochure, the website or any advertising by VDK, are given in good faith, but are only an opinion given by way of an indication which cannot, whatever the case, be taken to be proven facts. Neither VDK, nor any of its agents, are responsible for any inaccuracies in these opinions or any errors in the description or evaluation of the Lots, the accuracy of which they do not guarantee. The same applies to the stated author, signature, date, provenance, attribution, origin, authenticity, or condition of the Lots, the accuracy of which interested parties are expected to examine. If a certificate is attached, the description shall not be binding on VDK. Since the Buyer bears the risk of errors in description, the Buyer is presumed to accept the lack of conformity. This clause represents a caution for the Buyer who, of his own free will, chooses to be exposed to the risks linked to the value attributed to a work of art through the workings of an auction. Claims of whatever nature, concerning Lot descriptions, will therefore be rejected, once the sale has been pronounced.
9.5. Likewise, the various studies and analyses carried out by VDK prior to the Sale, whether requested or not, are made in good faith but remain purely estimates, and are given by way of an indication, and are not legally binding. VDK and its agents cannot be held liable because of these.
9.6. The Buyer is deemed to be incontestably capable of forming his own opinion on the desired Lot and its description, condition and authenticity, prior to the Sale. As such, the Buyer is irrefutably presumed to have been able to assess the Lot in person during the exhibition prior to the Sale, even when taking part in the auction by a means of remote communication or by leaving a buying order in writing.
9.7. VDK does not, in any way, guarantee the proper working order of mechanical articles or such as are fitted with a mechanical system (eg. watches, clocks, etc.).
9.8. Concerning jewels, these cannot be detached and hence VDK merely states an indicative size, and not the weight.
9.9. In any event, and except in the event of fraud or gross negligence on the part of VDK, the latter cannot be held liable in any way, whether directly or indirectly, for any loss, of whatever nature, arising from this section 9. In all cases where VDK may be held liable, whatever the reason, liability shall be limited to the sales fees collected by VDK.
The Seller
10. The mandate
10.1. The non-representation mandate concluded between the Seller and VDK is a commission contract under which the Seller irrevocably appoints VDK, which accepts against payment of a commission, to put the goods handed over to VDK up for public sale and to collect the auction price.
10.2. This is an irrevocable mandate. The goods handed over to VDK cannot therefore be taken back by the Buyer, whatever the situation, before the Sale during which the goods will be put up for public sale, except with the express prior agreement of VDK, and subject to payment by the Seller of the cancellation, management, sale, and transport costs, as well as compensation for the loss of the VDK commission on the sale of goods, set at twice the commission as calculated on the basis of the VDK’s upper estimate.
10.3. The Seller grants VDK the right to retain the agreed commission from the auction price and to invoice the Buyer for the purchase of the Lot.
10.4. The Seller undertakes to deliver his goods to VDK’s premises. The costs of transporting the goods to VDK shall be borne by the Buyer, even when VDK is responsible for carrying out or arranging for such transport, unless VDK has expressly agreed otherwise in advance.
10.5. At the handing over of the goods, the Seller and VDK will proceed to record the condition of these, together with details of any deterioration of which the Seller shall inform VDK. Where the parties fail to record this condition, the goods shall be deemed to have been returned to VDK in the condition in which they were at the time of the Sale.
10.6. VDK decides at its own discretion whether or not to accept the goods offered by the Seller, whether or not goods dropped off are placed on sale, its estimate, its description in the catalogue, its advertising, the date of sale, the conditions of sale and the manner in which the sale is conducted. VDK also reserves the right to group goods of small value into Lots. It can in no way be held liable to the Seller for any omissions, errors or mistakes in the description or estimate made.
10.7. VDK shall be entitled to delay selling items either in whole or in part, selling them at a later date, or to withdraw items from a sale, without having to give reasons for doing so, and without being subject to claims for compensation.
10.8. VDK is only an intermediary, and in no case becomes the owner of the items delivered
by the Seller. Any Finalised Sale results in a contract between the Buyer and the Seller.
11. The Seller: declarations and guarantees
11.1. The Seller warrants to VDK and to the Buyer that it is the true owner of the goods delivered to VDK or that it has the due authorization to sell the property on behalf and in the name of the owner. He vouches to be able to dispose of the deposited good (s) and to transfer ownership.
11.2. The Seller guarantees the absence of any present or future dispute as to the ownership and lawful possession of the goods delivered, and guarantees VDK and the Buyer against any risk of dispossession or any action that a third party might take against VDK and/or the Buyer with respect to goods delivered by the Seller to VDK.
11.3. If there are several owners, principals or persons who are in possession of the goods handed over to VDK, the acceptance of these general terms and conditions by one of them constitutes acceptance by all and they are jointly and severally bound by all the obligations, responsibilities, guarantees and other provisions resulting from these general terms and conditions.
11.4. The Seller warrants to VDK and Buyer that the goods to be sold are not subject to any intellectual or other property rights restricting their sale, and that there are no restrictions on VDK's rights to reproduce photographs or other illustrations of the goods delivered by the Seller.
11.5. The Seller is solely responsible for any faults or defects, including hidden ones, in the items, whether delivered in good or bad faith.
11.6. The Seller will provide VDK with all known information regarding the origin of the delivered goods and will inform VDK in writing, if applicable, of the concern expressed by third parties about the ownership, condition and authenticity of the goods delivered.
11.7. If the goods are imported into the European Union from an outside country, the Seller guarantees to VDK and to the Buyer that all relevant legal requirements and regulations have been fulfilled.
11.8. The Seller whose goods delivered are not in VDK’s possession or control at the time of the Sale, guarantees VDK as well as the Buyer that the Lot will be available on the Buyer’s demand for them, and accepts all responsibility for them.
11.9. The Seller is not entitled to bid on the Lot that it is putting up for sale, or to have someone bid either directly or indirectly for it on his behalf.
11.10. The Seller shall fully compensate VDK and the Buyer in the event that VDK and/or the Buyer should suffer any loss whatsoever because the Seller has not fulfilled the conditions provided for in this section 10.
12.1. The estimate is a price that VDK expects, by approximation, for the sale of a Lot. It is determined by VDK and merely represents an opinion. The low and the high estimate may be reviewed by VDK without prior consultation with the Seller. These are printed in the catalogue, alongside the Lot.
12.2. Provided that property is valued at more than €500 and that it is put up for sale during a
catalogued sale, the Seller has the possibility, when handing over an item, to request that a reserve price is set, that is, a minimum price below which the item will not be sold. This reserve must be shown in the mandate agreement and must be set in agreement with VDK. In the absence of VDK’s prior and express agreement, reserve prices are not permitted for uncatalogued sales.
12.3. Where the full amount due to be paid by the Buyer is equal to or greater than the reserve price, VDK reserves the right, at its own discretion, to sell the Lot for a sum below the reserve price. In this case, the sum to be paid to the Seller will be calculated on the basis of the proceeds of the sale that he would have obtained if the Lot had been sold for the reserve price (the reserve price minus the 15% commission).
12.4. If the Lot reaches the reserve price agreed during the auction, the Seller irrevocably undertakes, with regard to VDK and the Buyer, to sell.
12.5. Where the Lot does not reach the reserve price agreed during the auction, the Seller shall not have any claim to payment or compensation of any kind.
13.1. VDK will pay the Seller an amount equivalent to the hammer price minus fifteen
percent (15%) commission, without affecting the capacity of VDK and the Seller to agree on a different rate. Payment will be made by bank transfer.
13.2. Subject to having received the full amount due by the Buyer on that date, VDK shall make its payment to the Seller no later than six weeks after the Sale. VDK can in no way be held responsible for a Buyer’s failure.
13.3. If the Lot is not paid for by the Buyer, VDK alone can decide on any measures to be taken
against the Buyer. In no case will the Seller be entitled to interest or compensation for late payment, and the Lot will in the meantime remain entrusted to VDK.
13.4. If VDK does not finally receive the sum owed by the Buyer, it reserves the right to quite simply annul the sale altogether and to notify the Seller accordingly, who will be able to either put his or its property up for sale at a later date or recover his property without a claim to any compensation.
14.1. If a Lot has not been sold at the time of the Sale, the Seller will make arrangements either to subsequently put the Lot back on sale, or to withdraw the Lot in return for payment of any agreed fees. If these arrangements are not taken up by the Seller during the 30 days following the Sale at which the Lot was put up for sale, VDK will no longer assume any obligation as regards their custody and these Lots will no longer be covered by the insurance from VDK.
14.2. After the deadline provided for in Article 14.1, the depositor will be liable for all unsold lots, interest of 2% per month for storage costs, calculated on the low estimates.
14.3 Furthermore, after the period provided for in section 14.1, VDK shall automatically be entitled, at its own discretion, to include this Lot, as long as it remains in store, in a later sale, without any reservations, and to withhold any sum due to it, for the costs it has incurred, from the hammer price.
15.1. VDK states that it holds public liability insurance and that it will only accept liability for damage or repair which would be covered by the insurance policy concerned.
15.2. Unless otherwise agreed between the Seller and VDK, VDK will take back each item deposited with it and covered by its insurance policy from the date of delivery of the goods by the Buyer or by his agent until the day of the auction of the Lot, in the event of a sale of the Lot, or as the case may be, within 30 days after the day of the Sale if the deposited property has not been awarded and the Seller has not come forward in accordance with section 14.1. Before and after this period, VDK cannot in any way be held liable for loss or damage to the property.
15.3. Goods shall only be insured by VDK, insofar as this is necessary, from the time at which they arrive on VDK’s premises.
15.4. Damages for which VDK is not responsible, or which result from poor storage or disintegration of the delivered goods shall be the Seller’s responsibility.
15.5. In the event of damage, and assuming that VDK's liability is established, the Seller may in any case only claim from VDK the cost of repairs, without this amount being greater than the low estimate stated in the catalogue. The determination of the value of the damage will only and exclusively be admissible following assessment by art experts appointed by the insurance company. In the event of total loss, the Seller may in no case claim compensation greater than the low estimate shown in the catalogue, from VDK.
15.6. In any event, VDK's liability is limited to repairing real, direct and personal damage suffered by the Seller, to the exclusion of any indirect or immaterial damage such as, without limitation, the loss of income and gains, loss of customers, loss of contracts and additional costs.
16.1. Both the Seller and the Buyer give VDK the right to photograph all items delivered and Lots acquired and to publish these photographs which it holds, whether regarding Sales or otherwise.
16.2. All creative works (written and oral works, aesthetic art, graphic designs and works in plastic, photographs, software, logos, advertising work, etc.) produced by VDK are protected property, and remain the full property of VDK, which can therefore use them at its own discretion. This list is given by way of illustration and is not exhaustive.Miscellaneous
17.1. VDK may communicate with the Seller and Buyer, and vice versa, by telephone, fax, and by ordinary or electronic mail.
17.2. VDK reserves the right to deny access to its premises at any time during exhibitions or sales.
17.3. In addition, VDK reserves the right to subcontract and thus transfer the performance of all or part of its services to the person of its choice.
17.4. VDK undertakes to comply with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and Council of April 27, 2016, that is, the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), regarding personal-data protection, when processing Sellers’ and Buyers’ private data. Please see our confidentiality policy which you can access via the VDK website. This also applies to VDK’s Cookies policy for its website.
18.1. Should one or more clauses of these general terms and conditions be declared null or void, the other clauses will continue to apply. The nullity or inapplicability, for any reason whatsoever, of one of the clauses of these general terms and conditions shall not affect the validity of the other clauses.
18.2. The fact that VDK does not avail itself at a given time of a clause of the general terms and conditions cannot be interpreted by the Customer as a waiver by VDK to avail itself subsequently of this clause or of any other provision of these general conditions.
19.1. These general terms and conditions and their possible modifications, as well as the relationship between the Buyer, the Seller and VDK, shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with Belgian law. This shall also apply to any dispute or claim, including any of a non-contractual nature arising from these general terms and conditions or from relations between Buyer, Seller and VDK and in connection with them.
19.2. In the event of a dispute or claim of whatever nature, relating in particular to the interpretation or execution of these general terms and conditions, and including a dispute or claim of a non-contractual nature arising from these general conditions, the sole competent courts shall be the French-speaking courts within the legal jurisdiction of Brussels.