Old Master Paintings and 19th Century Art

Minerva Auctions S.r.l. Registered office in Rome - Via Giosué Carducci No. 4 Capital Stock Euro 105.000,00 fully paid Recorded with the Companies? Register of Rome and Fiscal Code No. 09479031008 [R.E.A. RM-1165993] Company with only one shareholder (holding Company). 1. Minerva Auctions S.r.l., a company with only one shareholder, with principal office in Rome, Via Giosué Carducci No. 4 and operating office in Piazza SS. Apostoli 80, recorded with the Companies? Register of Rome and Fiscal Code No. 09479031008 [Company Register Code RM-1165993], Company with only one shareholder (holding Company), in carrying out its selling activity, acts as an agent on an exclusive basis in its name but on behalf of each Seller, whose name is registered in the special books held at Minerva?s office pursuant to the Police Regulations. The sales shall be deemed concluded directly between the Seller and the Buyer (hereinafter referred to as the ?Buyer?); it follows that Minerva undertakes no responsibility except that deriving from its role as agent. 2. The lots are knocked down to the highest bidder. If any dispute arises between two or more bidders, the disputed lot may, at the sole discretion of the Auctioneer, immediately be reoffered and resold. 3. Minerva reserves the right to withdraw any lot in its absolute discretion and without need of any notice. During the auction, the auctioneer in its absolute discretion is entitled to change the order of sale, to join and/or separate any two or more lots. Minerva, moreover, shall also withdraw lots if the bids do not reach the reserve price, as agreed between Minerva and the Seller. 4. The minimum rate by which a bid may be increased is 10% of the minimum starting price, unless otherwise communicated by the Auctioneer. 5. The highest bidder by making its bid undertakes to pay to Minerva the hammer price of the lot plus the commission for the auction rights due to Minerva plus taxes and other charges applicable to the sale and to the commission. 6. Title to the lots is transferred to the highest bidder only upon full payment of the hammer price and of the commissions referred to in paragraph 7 herein below. The following modalities of payment are accepted: a. by cash up to Euro 1.000; b. by VISA OR MASTERCARD credit card (a surcharge of 3% is payable); for remote payment ONLY BY AMERICAN EXPRESS credit card (a surcharge of 4% is payable); c. by banker?s draft and/or certified non negotiable cheque payable to Minerva Auctions S.r.l.; d. by bank transfer to the banking account No. 400851407 in the name of Minerva Auctions S.r.l. with Unicredit Banca ? Filiale No. 70 of Rome, Via del Corso No. 307, identified with the following banking data: IBAN IT04W0200805181000400851407, SWIFT: UNCRITM1B44. In case of payment made by cheque or banking remittance, the payment shall be deemed made only when Minerva?s bank has confirmed the encashment of the cheque or the receipt of the remittance. 7.(?) The commissions due to Minerva by the Buyer are the following: - 25% of the hammer price of each lot up to an amount of Euro 100.000,00; - 18% of the hammer price on any amount in excess of Euro 100.000,00. 7a.(?) The commissions due to Minerva by the Buyer are the following: (?) Means: lots of Minerva?s stock that are outside the margin scheme. The total amount payable by the buyer will include: the hammer price 25% of the hammer price up to ? 100.000 18% on the excess of the hammer price above ? 100.000 22% VAT on the auction commission 22% VAT on the hammer price VAT on the hammer price is refundable only in cases of certified exportation outside the EU within three months of the date of sale, on condition that the relevant certifying documentation, as provided for by the italian law, is delivered to Minerva within four months of the date of sale. The VAT on the hammer price and on the auction commision is not applicable to non italian persons subject to VAT who reside within the EU. 8. LOTS WITH THE SYMBOL a. In Italy the Legislative Decree No. 118/2006 provides a so called ?Diritto di Seguito? (artist?s resale right) namely the right of the artist, who created figurative works or manuscripts, during his entire life and the right of his heirs for a period of 70 years from the artist?s death, to receive a payment calculated at a percentage of the sale price of the originals of his works on occasion of subsequent sales of the artist?s works. For lots that appear with this symbol the buyer is committed to pay the ?droit de suite? which entitles the seller to pay according to the art. 152, I comma, Law 22 aprile 1941, n. 633. Such artist?s compensation is at charge of the Buyer and is calculated on the hammer price if it is equal or higher than Euro 3.000,00. This compensation cannot in any case be higher than Euro 12.500,00 for each lot. The amount of the compensation to be paid is calculated as follows: 4% for the sum of the hammer price up to Euro 50.000,00; 3% for the sum of the hammer price between Euro 50.000,01 and Euro 200.000,00; 1% for the sum of the hammer price between Euro 200.000,01 and Euro 350.000,00; 0,50% for the sum of the hammer price between Euro 350.000,01 and Euro 500.000,00; 0,25% of the hammer price in excess of Euro 500.000,00. The artist?s compensation charged to Buyer shall be paid by Minerva to SIAE, pursuant to what prescribed by the Italian law. 9. Each prospective Buyer must complete and sign a registration form, including personal data and bank references prior to each auction. Said data shall be treated confidentially pursuant to the applicable laws on privacy, as indicated in details in the appropriate notice delivered to the prospective buyers. Minerva reserves to itself the right to refuse bids made by persons not registered or not identified or who has not given adequate bank references. 10. Minerva will be entitled to execute bids for specific lots on behalf of clients known to it, making bids through the auctioneer in competition with the other bidders attending the sale. In the event of two identical bids, the bid communicated by the auctioneer shall prevail over the bid made by other bidders. 11. Minerva acts as mere agent of the Sellers and shall not be held liable for the description of the lots in the catalogues, brochures and other publications. Statements in the catalogue or condition reports or any other indication or illustration regarding the lots, are purely statements of opinion and are not to be relied upon as statements of warranty. Before every auction, an exhibition of the lots shall take place in order to allow a trough evaluation of the authenticity, the state of preservation, the provenance and the type and quality of any lot. Following the sale, neither Minerva?s nor the Sellers shall be liable for any defects relative to the state of preservation, nor do they warrant the correctness of statements concerning attribution, authenticity, provenance, weight or quality in any item. Neither Minerva?s nor its personnel shall have the authority to make or give any representation or warranty in this respect, except for cases provided by law. Without prejudice to what established hereinabove or by imperative provisions of law any liability for damages either by Minerva or by the Seller shall be limited to the hammer price of the related lot. 12. The estimates regarding the possible sale price of each lot are expressed in Euro and are printed under their description in the catalogue and are not inclusive of the commissions payable by the Buyer to Minerva. Estimates are subject to revision at any moment, so that the lots may be offered at the auction at a price different from that indicated in the catalogue. The description of the lots in the catalogue can also be subject to revision by way of appropriate communications to the public during the auction. 13. The Buyer shall pay to Minerva the hammer price plus the commission due to Minerva for the action fees immediately after the conclusion of the auction and, in any case, within seven working days, unless otherwise previously agreed in writing with Minerva. 14. In the event of delays in the payment of the hammer price plus commissions by the Buyer, Minerva may charge to the Buyer liquidated damages at the rate of 12% per year calculated for the actual days of delay, saving the right of Minerva, after the elapse of seven days from the auction, to cancel the sale of the lot and to resell the lot by future auction or by private sale, withholding in any case, as liquidated damages, advance payments, if any, made by the Buyer. The unpaid lots shall be kept in custody by Minerva at risk and cost of the Buyer until they are sold, as provided for in the precedent paragraph, or returned to the Seller upon his request, it being understood that, until the sale or the return of the lots to the Seller, the Buyer shall be obliged to pay to Minerva the above mentioned liquidated damages. 15. The Buyer, after the payment of the hammer price and of the commission, should collect the lots at his own risk and costs within seven days from auction. After this time, Minerva shall not be held liable towards the Buyer with reference to the custody, to any possible deterioration or wear and tear of the lots and will have right to transfer lots which have not been collected at the expense and risk of the Buyer to its office or to private or public warehouse. Minerva may arrange to have the lots packed, insured and shipped at the express request, expense and risk of the Buyer, upon receipt of the related payment. 16. The Buyer, with respect to the lots declared of significant interest by the Italian State, shall comply with the provision set forth in the Legislative Decree No. 42 of January 22, 2004 (so called ?Codice dei beni culturali?). The export of lots by the Buyers, both resident and not resident in Italy, is governed by the above mentioned provisions of law and are also subject to customs, currency and tax-regulations in force. Minerva shall not be held liable for any restrictions on export of the sold lots or for any licenses or permits that the Buyer must obtain under Italian law. In the event that the Italian State exercise the right of pre-emption, the Buyer shall not be entitled to receive either from Minerva or from the Seller any refund of the interest on the sale price and on the commissions already paid to Minerva. 17. If, within 21 days from the date of the sale, the Buyer has notified Minerva in writing that he/she has grounds for believing that the lot concerned is a forgery or has substantial defects, Minerva shall be entitled, in its sole discretion, to cancel the sale and disclose to the Buyer the name of the Seller, giving prior notice to him/her. 18. In any case of auctions concerning books, the Buyer shall not be entitled to dispute any damage to bindings, foxing, wormholes, trimmed pages or plates or any other defect affecting the integrity of the text and/or illustrative material, including missing indices of plates, blank pages, insertions, supplements and additions subsequent to the date of publication of the work. No refund will be considered for books not described in the catalogue. 19. In the event that Minerva is notified or become aware of a claim by a third party about the ownership or possession or control of one or more lots, it may, in its absolute discretion, retain possession of the lots for such period as it is reasonable for the settlement of the claim. 20. These general conditions of sale shall be deemed accepted entirely and automatically by the sale participants and are available to any person requesting them. Any dispute relating to these general conditions on the auctions shall be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Rome Courts and shall be governed by Italian Law, saving Minerva rights to submit the claim to the Court where the defendant is resident.