Maestro del XVIII secolo, “Il poeta Metastasio”. Olio su rame, H cm 24x19 (lievi difetti)

(GREGORY'S Casa d'Aste sas di Samarro Francesca & C., hereinafter referred to as “Gregory's)

1) Gregory's acts as an agent, acting in the name of and on behalf of each vendor, pursuant to Article 1704 of the Italian Civil Code. Sales are considered to have taken place between the seller and the buyer and, as a result, Gregory's accepts no further liabilities toward buyers or third parties other than those arising from their role as agent. The sellers of the goods retain all liabilities pursuant to Articles 1476 and subsequent of the Italian Civil Code. When the auctioneer’s hammer falls, this marks the conclusion of the contract of sale between the seller and the buyer.

2)  Sales are made to the highest bidder, understood as in cash. Lots already considered sold under the hammer may not be transferred to third parties and Gregory's considers the winning bidder to be solely responsible for payment.

3)  The lots to be auctioned are placed on view by Gregory’s in premises open to the public and they are sold in the state they are in at the time of viewing, complete with any defects or imperfections, any failure to refer explicitly to such flaws does not imply that these do not exist. During viewing, the Auction House staff will be available to provide any clarification needed. People interested in buying a lot may examine it during the viewing and also call upon expert consultation. The purpose of the viewing is to allow potential buyers to see the state of preservation and quality of the items on sale and also to clarify any errors or lack of precision in the information in the catalogue. All items are sold "as seen". Once an item has been sold under the hammer no disputes may arise from the sale and neither Gregory's nor the sellers may be held responsible for any incorrect information relating to the auctioned items.

4) Descriptions or illustrations of the lots that appear in the catalogue and in any other illustrative material are merely indicative, reflecting personal opinion, and they may therefore be revised before the lot is placed on sale. Gregory's may not be held responsible for any errors and omissions relating to such descriptions, nor for any counterfeiting, since no implicit or explicit guarantees are provided for the lots to be auctioned. Moreover, the sole purpose of the illustrations of the items published in the catalogue or in any other illustrative material is to identify the lot and they may not be considered precise representations of the item’s state of preservation. The estimated values given in the catalogue are expressed in euro and are to be considered merely as a guide. These values may be equal to or higher or lower than the reserve price for each lot as agreed with the seller. For old masters and 19th Century paintings, certification relates only to the era in which the attributed artist lived and the school to which he or she belonged.

20th and 21st Century works (modern and contemporary art) are usually accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and any other documentation expressly mentioned in the information sheet. No other certificate, evaluation or opinion, requested or presented once the sale has been made, may constitute a reason to dispute the authenticity of the work in question.

5)  Any complaint must be made in writing and sent by recorded delivery letter within 15 days of the date of sale. Once this time period has elapsed, the company ceases to bear any liability. If a complaint is considered justified, the sum paid will be refunded on return of the item, no other claims will be accepted.

6)  Items are sold to the highest bidder. If a dispute arises as to who the highest bidder is and thus who has bought the item, the auctioneer, whose decision is final, will put the item back on sale in the same auction and the buyer established once more. When making a bid, bidders assume personal responsibility for paying the sale price, including the buyer’s premium and any other applicable charge. Gregory's reserves the right to withdraw any lot from the auction. During the auction, the auctioneer has the right to group lots together or separate them and to make any changes to the order of sale. The auctioneer, whose decision is final, may withdraw lots if they have not reached the reserve price agreed between Gregory's and the seller.

7) Gregory's may accept mandates to buy in the form of written or telephone bids. Written bids will be submitted on behalf of the bidder at the minimum possible price, taking into consideration the reserve price and the other bids, raising the bids through the auctioneer, in competition with the public taking part in the auction. If two identical written bids are received for the same lot, the sale will go the bidder whose bid was received first. Gregory's reserves the right to refuse written and telephone bids from unknown buyers unless they pay a deposit to cover the full value of the lots they wish to buy, or, in all circumstances, provide an adequate guarantee. Written bids are only valid if they arrive at Gregory's in sufficient time before the start of the auction (at least five hours before), and if they are sufficiently clear and complete.

8) In order to improve the efficiency of the auction procedure, all potential buyers wishing to gain access to the auction room  are required to register by filling in a partecipation form showing an identity document and, before the auction starts, equipping themselves with a paddle with a personal number for making bids.

9) For each lot sold, the buyer must pay Gregory's a premium, including VAT, amounting to 24% of the sale price for lots up to 300,000 euro, and 20% on lots above that price. Internet surcharge is 2% for all systems excluding Gregory's own live auction system, connected to Gregorys web site (aste-gregorys.bidinside.com). Buyers must make a down-payment immediately after the sale and complete payment, before collecting the goods, no later than ten working days from the date of sale. Once that period of time has elapsed, Gregory's will no longer be required to keep the lots nor be liable for any damage to them. In the event of failure, within the prescribed period, to make payment of either part of or all of the sum due from the buyer, Gregory's, at their own discretion, have the right to:

a) return the item to the seller and, by way of a penalty, demand payment from the defaulting buyer of the lost commission;

b) take legal action to enforce the obligation to buy;

c) sell the lot by way of a private transaction or in subsequent auctions on behalf of and at the expense of the defaulting buyer, pursuant to Article 1515 of the Italian Civil Code, without prejudice, in all circumstances, to the right to claim damages.

Once the aforesaid time period has elapsed, Gregory's will be relieved of all liability towards the buyer for any wear and tear or deterioration of the goods, and the company will have the right to payment for each individual lot in their custody. All risks of loss or damage to the goods are transferred to the buyer immediately the sale under hammer is made.

Buyers may only arrange for delivery of the goods they have bought if they pay Gregory’s a delivery charge and any other related commission, cost or reimbursement.

Gregory's could ask to a new customer a security deposit, made by Bank Transfer. If no purchase is reached, deposit returns to the potential buyer.

10) For items subject to state notification, pursuant to Italian Legislative Decree 42 of 22.01.2004 (The Cultural Heritage Code) as amended, buyers are required to comply with all current legislation on that matter. If the government decides to exercise the right of pre-emption, the buyer may not claim any reimbursement, from Gregory's or from the seller, of any interest on the price and buyer’s premium already paid. The export of items by buyers resident or non-resident in Italy is regulated by the aforementioned Legislative Decree and also by current customs, monetary and tax regulations. Therefore, for the export of any objects dated as being over 50 years old, a free movement of goods licence issued by the competent authority is always required. Gregory's assumes no responsibility to the buyer for any export restrictions that may apply to the lots sold, nor for any licences or certificates that have to be obtained under Italian law.

11) All lots containing material belonging to protected species, such as, for example, coral, ivory, tortoiseshell, crocodile skin, whalebone, rhinoceros horn, etc., require a CITES export licence issued by the Ministry of the Environment and Land Protection. We would ask all potential buyers inform themselves about any legislation in the destination country that regulates such imports.

12) The resale right is to be paid by the seller under the terms of Article 152 of Italian Law 633 of 22.04.1941, replaced by Article 10 of Italian Legislative Decree 118 of 13.02.2006.

These regulations are tacitly accepted by all those taking part in this auction sale. These Terms and Conditions of sale are regulated by Italian law.

Pursuant to Article 13 of Italian Legislative Decree 196/2003 (Personal Data Protection Code), Gregory's, in its role as owner of the processed data, gives notice that the data provided will be used, on paper or in electronic format, in order to be able to execute to the full any contracts of purchase and sale entered into by the company and also in order to deliver every service referred to as part of the company purpose of GREGORY'S Casa d'Aste sas di Samarro Francesca & C.. Although providing such data is optional, it remains strictly necessary for executing any contracts entered into. Registering for the auction allows us to send out catalogues for subsequent auctions and other informative material about the business.

The Court of Bologna is the sole place of jurisdiction for any disputes arising.

Online and Live Terms and Conditions

These terms and conditions provide information relating to the service  “Gregory’s Asta Live” GREGORY'S Casa d'Aste sas di Samarro Francesca & C.. These terms and conditions are in addition to “GREGORY'S Casa d'Aste sas di Samarro Francesca & C.” General Terms and Conditions of Sale and are not intended to replace them in any way.

Potential purchasers are considered responsible for their knowledge for all sale notices and announcements and therefore potential buyers should examine the goods they are interested in before the auction starts.

Currency
The currency used in the auctions is the euro.
All purchases must be made in euro (€).


Online bids
Before the saleroom auction begins, by the time indicated in the timetable for the auction and subject to prior registration, it is possible to make bids online according to the same conditions that apply to bids received by post, fax or telephone.

If multiple bids are received for the same amount, the one that arrived first will be considered the winner.

While the catalogue is being published no bids received by GREGORY'S Casa d'Aste sas will be shown publically, in any way, on the online system.


Live bids
The service entitled “Gregory’s Asta Live” is provided to bidders as an additional tool and it does not replace attendance in the saleroom.

GREGORY'S Casa d'Aste sas di Samarro Francesca & C. reserves the right to refuse to accept bids or to withdraw permission to bid online and to remove the privileges of online bidding while the auction is in progress.

Users may therefore make bids using “Gregory’s Asta Live” and in the event that these are successful, they undertake to pay the purchase price which includes the buyer’s premium and any applicable taxes and other expenses.

The procedure for making bids using Gregory’s Asta Live is immediate, thus providing online buyers with the same conditions for making fresh bids against the bids made in in the sale room or on the phone.

While the auction is in progress, the system shows all the types of bids, those coming in via the internet (online bids) and those made in the saleroom(saleroom bids).

If two bids are made are for the same amount, one online and one in the saleroom, the saleroom bid will take precedence and the online bid will be cancelled.

An increment in the bid is indicated by the “BID NOW” button. The saleroom bid may differ from that shown on the  bid button because auctioneers can vary the increments, at any time, at their discretion.

Online bidders may not make different bids from those following the increments shown by the system.

If there is disagreement between the online records or messages sent by the Gregory’s Asta Live system and bids recorded in the sale record kept by the auctioneer, the sale record kept by the auctioneer will be taken as the absolute and definitive point of reference

Payment and collection
If your bid has been successful you will be notified of this by the system, You will be able to see all the lots for which you have bid in the section “Your bids”, with successful bids highlighted. This document may not be considered an invoice.

Invoices are sent by post after the auction has been closed.

Buyers are asked to contact us by telephone or in person as soon as possible after the sale to obtain collection/delivery details and thus avoid unnecessary storage expenses.

In addition to the hammer price, buyers undertake to pay “GREGORY'S Casa d'Aste sas di Samarro Francesca & C.” any further expenses.

The terms and conditions for payment and for the collection of goods remain the same, regardless of the way in which the successful bid was made, for example online or in the saleroom.

The payment and collection terms are described in detail in the “General Terms and Conditions” page published on the website www.gregorysaste.it.

Technical issues
GREGORY'S Casa d'Aste sas di Samarro Francesca & C.” offers the Live Auction service to its customers as an additional service.
GREGORY'S Casa d'Aste sas di Samarro Francesca & C.” cannot be held responsible for any errors or difficulties encountered while making online bids, including, without limitation, errors or break-downs caused by loss of the internet connection, software or hardware problems.

Gregory’s Asta Live is a free service. GREGORY'S Casa d'Aste sas di Samarro Francesca & C. declines all responsibility for failure to implement an online bid or for any errors generated by the system.

The application that makes online bidding possible is optimised for broadband connections (ADSL).