Chinese and Asian Art

1) The goods, grouped in lots, will be auctioned off in rooms open to the public. Il Ponte - Casa d?Aste S.r.l. (hereinafter Il Ponte) shall act as the agent for the sellers of the goods sold at auction, whose names are recorded in apposite ledgers, kept in compliance with the applicable laws, and is not responsible for the sale directly. The values listed in the catalogue are an approximate estimate of the value of the goods and are in Euros: the opening asking price at auction and the final sale price may be higher or lower than the estimated values. Il Ponte organizes the viewing of the goods prior to the auction, so that potential buyers can verify the quality and condition of the goods offered. Each participant in the auction is urged to examine the condition of each object before the auction, conducting all the inspections and tests deemed necessary. After the sale, neither Il Ponte nor the Sellers it represents may be held liable for claims regarding the condition, the erroneous attribution, the authenticity or the origin of the objects sold. The illustrations in the catalogue are intended solely to identify the object. During the exhibition period, Il Ponte personnel will be available to the customers for additional information on the goods on display. 2) In order to participate in the auction, one must have a special numbered paddle, which will be given to participants at the registration desk by the staff of Il Ponte, after they fill out a registration form and present an Identity document. Il Ponte invites participants to obtain the numbered paddle on time, and advises that it is possible to register for the auction during the viewing days preceding the sale. If the numbered paddle is lost, the Auctioneer must be notified immediately. The numbered paddle must be returned to Il Ponte after the auction. 3) Il Ponte reserves itself the right to ask the participant for adequate guarantees in order to allow the participant to bid in view of an award during the auction. 4) Il Ponte reserves itself the right to withdraw any item from the sale, at any time during the auction itself, and in particular if the highest bid does not reach the price established confidentially between Il Ponte and the Seller. Il Ponte also reserves itself the right to decide, as the Auctioneer deems fit, to separate or group items in lots and to modify the sequence of the items for sale, with the exception of auctioning lots prior to the date announced and printed in the catalogue. The Auctioneer may accept bids from participants present in the saleroom as well as from absentees, as long as their bids are made before the auction, in written form, with a purchase order. Bids may also be made by telephone during the auction, if the participant has requested this method and notified Il Ponte in writing, prior to the opening of the auction, and if the minimum value of the lot the participant intends to bid on is greater than 100 euros. The above mentioned written notifications must be made using the appropriate form for written and telephone bids drawn up by Il Ponte and contained in the auction catalogues or on the website ( www.ponteonline.com ). Il Ponte will not accept bids on account of third persons if a proxy, written by the third party in a public deed or with a certified signature has not been deposited at Il Ponte prior to the beginning of the sale.. The Auctioneer may, without prejudice to the rights of Il Ponte, specified in the first paragraph of the present point 4, call for bids on an item until the reserve price confidentially agreed upon between the Seller and Il Ponte has not been reached. 5) Bidding in the saleroom must be made by raising the numbered paddle. The items are sold to the highest bidder, upon declaration of the Auctioneer, which is equivalent to the acceptance of the bid made by the participant. In the case of two written bids of the same amount, the bid received first shall be considered valid. In case a written bid and a bid made by one of the participants present at the auction should be of the same amount, the bid made by the participant who is physically present shall prevail over the written bid. In case of a written bid and a telephone bid of the same amount, the telephone bid shall prevail. In case of disputes concerning the assignment of an item sold at an auction, it is the option solely of the Auctioneer to withdraw the item in question from the sale, or else to re-open bidding on the item at the on-going sale, beginning with the highest bid made and accepted. 6) Il Ponte reserves itself the right to refuse offers coming from, or traceable to, customers who have not honoured their obligations vis-à- vis Il Ponte. 7) The Buyer must add an amount of 25% for auctions in Via Pontaccio and 31% for auctions in Via Pitteri (inclusive of VAT) to the Hammer Price for items sold. When his bid is accepted, the Buyer must sign the award slip and pay the entire amount within 10 days. The item in question shall be consigned to the Buyer at the time of the payment of the balance due, and must be retrieved and transported at the expense, risk and care of said Buyer, within seven days of said payment. After this period of time has elapsed, Il Ponte may request a deposit fee of 10 euros per day and shall not be liable to the Buyer for the conservation of the item and may store it with third parties on behalf and at the expense of the Buyer. Il Ponte shall not deliver the items sold at auction to persons other than the Buyer, who shall in any case be responsible for the payment due. 8) In the case of unpaid lots, after 15 days have elapsed from the sale, Il Ponte may cancel the sale with a written communication as by article 1456 of the Civil Code. 9) Lots purchased can e paid by certified check, credit card, cashcard bank transfer or cash. If the payment has been settled by bank transfer, the payment will be considered received only after the sum is physically deposited on the account of Il Ponte. Cash payments of more than euro 999,00 are not permitted in compliance with the money laundering Italian laws. 10) Any and all indications, comments and estimates of the goods contained in the catalogue, regarding the characteristics, price and/or value of the items themselves are simply opinions. Unless the item is owned by Il Ponte, the latter acts as an agent for the Seller, who has offered the item for sale at auction (Seller). For items sold at auction, the relationship between the Seller and Il Ponte is concluded about 45 working days of Il Ponte following the date of the auction's closing. Without prejudice to the application of the expiry dates foreseen by law, after Il Ponte has received the purchase price from the Buyer and has paid the Seller, any claim, which must in any case be made in writing, must be addressed directly to the Seller of which Il Ponte is authorized to and shall, upon the Buyer's request, give the necessary information. Il Ponte is solely responsible for what it expressly guarantees and limited to the amount it receives as auction fee (Buyer's premium). If an item awarded should later be declared counterfeit, Il Ponte, once it has received the item in question, free of any and all claims, disputes and litigations involving third parties and/or the courts and/or government agencies, is obliged to reimburse the Buyer for the price of the item, in the same currency, on the condition that conclusive proof of the item?s falsity be presented in writing to Il Ponte within and not later than 5 years following the item's sale, and not later than three months after the Buyer has received notification of the elements that indicate the item in question is counterfeit. 11) Il Ponte shall not be held liable by Buyers for any possible limitations imposed on exportation of the items acquired, nor for any possible licenses or permits that the Buyer may be obligated to obtain in order to comply with the applicable laws. The items purchased must in any case be paid for within the agreed terms, and the denial of an export permit shall not constitute a valid motive for the cancellation of a purchase, nor justification for failure to pay for the auction lot in question. Should the government exercise its right of pre-emption, the Buyer shall not be entitled to any reimbursement for the amounts paid. For items subject to Official State Notification, Buyers are obliged to adhere to all the laws and regulations in force regarding the matter. Il Ponte may, on a Buyer's request, carry out the bureaucratic export procedures for a fee of 100 euros plus an extra 10 euros per lot for which export is required. 12)All items made from or using parts of plants or animals, such as, coral, crocodile, ivory, whalebone, tortoiseshell, etc., may require specific licenses, permits or certificates before being transferred to countries outside the EU, independent of their age and value. Please note that obtaining a permit or license to export an item does not guarantee obtaining a corresponding document for importing it, and vice-versa. For example, it is illegal to import elephant ivory less than 100 years old to the United States. Il Ponte advises potential Buyers to check their country's laws regarding the requisites for importing items made from or containing parts of protected species. The Buyer is the sole responsible for obtaining these import/export permits, as well as all other documents required, before making a bid. Please refer to point 8 of the Sale Conditions. 13) The present Rules are automatically approved and accepted by participants in the auction. 14) Penal law covers the free auction process and sanctions its disturbance, including the making of false bids.