Asian Antiques and Ethnographic Art

Terms and Conditions of Sale 1. The lots listed in this catalog will be offered by the Auctioneer, galerieTAO, as Owner or Consignor subject to the following terms and conditions. By bidding at auction, the Bidder or Purchaser agrees to be bound by these Terms and Conditions of Sale. 2. If the Auctioneer determines an item needs to be removed from the LiveAuctioneers' End of Auction report for any reason, the Auctioneer reserves the right to have the item removed without the Bidder’s approval, and be released from any commission charges for said item(s) to LiveAuctioneers. In doing so, the item will be removed from the Bidder's LiveAuctioneers' Dashboard/Shopping Cart. Furthermore, any payments collected for said item(s) will be refunded in full to the Bidder. To be completely clear: The Auctioneer does not need permission from the Bidder to remove an item from the End of Auction report. This will immediately release the Bidder from any financial obligation to the Auctioneer, and also immediately release The Auctioneer from any financial obligation or commission charges to LiveAuctioneers on lots/merchandise that are undeliverable to the Bidder. 3. Unless otherwise announced by the Auctioneer prior to the time of sale, items are sold unreserved, all bids are per lot as numbered in the catalogue, and no lot shall be divided for sale. Reserved listings will be clearly indicated. a. As a convenience to our clients, we furnish pre-sale estimates for all materials included in the auctions. These estimates are only our approximate valuations and should be taken as educated guesses based upon comparable auction values, not as "prices." Bidding normally begins at about one-half the low estimate, but the final bid price may well be less than or more than any estimate printed. 4. High and low estimates are provided solely for comparison purposes and the Auctioneer makes no warranties of any kind relating to them. 5. The Auctioneer believes, to the best of its knowledge that the information presented in any listing has come from reliable sources. Such information is presented solely for the convenience of the Bidder and/or Purchaser. a. The Auctioneer makes no warranties of any kind related to the information presented in any listing. The Auctioneer further makes no warranties, either express or implied, relating to the value, marketability or condition of the lot described in any listing. Prospective Bidders should investigate a lot thoroughly before bidding. b. By bidding the Bidder acknowledges that Bidder has investigated the lot to his or her satisfaction, or, that Bidder has chosen not to do so, and agrees to accept the lot being bid on with no objections after the sale closes. If you are uncertain please contact us with your questions prior to bidding. If you are still uncertain after we reply, please refrain from bidding. Photos and other graphic material contained in any listing of generic or duplicate lots may be stock presentations and not necessarily of the specific lot. 6. All property is sold "as is", and the Auctioneer makes any warranties or representation of any kind or nature with respect to the property, and in no event shall they be responsible for the correctness, nor deemed to have made any representation or warranty, or description, genuineness, authorship, attribution, provenance, period, culture, source, origin, or condition of the property and no statement made at the sale, or in the bill of sale, or invoice or elsewhere shall be deemed such a warranty of representation or an assumption of liability. ALL PROPERTY IS SOLD AS IS. ALL SALES ARE FINAL. Please Note: All measurements are approximations. 7. The Auctioneer has the right at his or her absolute and sole discretion to refuse any bid, to advance the bidding in such a manner as he or she may decide to withdraw any lot, and in the case of error or dispute, and whether during or after the sale, to determine the successful Bidder, to continue the bidding, to cancel the sale or to re-offer and resell the item in dispute. If any dispute arises after the sale, our sale record is conclusive. We reserve the right to withdraw any property before and during the sale, as well as reserve the right to group one or more lots into one or more selling lots, or to subdivide into two or more selling lots. The Auctioneer shall have no liability whatsoever for such withdrawal, addition or amendment. 8. The Auctioneer shall use reasonable efforts to carry out online bids and do not accept liability for equipment failure, inability to access the internet or software malfunctions related to the execution of online bids. 9. By signing up to bid and by bidding, Bidder agrees not to violate the payment provisions of these Terms and Conditions of Sale. As a service to those wishing to place bids, we will accept Absentee bids without charge, in advance of the sale. In the event identical bids are submitted, the earliest will take precedence. Absentee bids shall be executed in competition with other absentee bids, any applicable reserve, bids from the audience and bids live on-line. a. Buyer's Premiums will only be applied on consigned items that we take possession of prior to an auction. We use this time to research, catalogue, photograph and market the items before they go up for sale. When an object is sold, the Auctioneer receives a percentage of the hammer price (we call that the seller's commission) plus certain fees as our payment from the consignor. We also collect a percentage of the hammer price from the buyer that we call a Buyer's Premium (20% of the hammer price will be collected as Buyer's Premium as result of sales under total amount of $50,000; 15% of the hammer price will be collected for sales total from $50,000 to $100,000) 10. Payments are expected within two business days of invoice. Payment methods include Wire Transfer, and All Major Credit Cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover). Unless otherwise arranged, International orders and all orders of $5,000 or more must be paid for by Wire Transfer. A $20 processing fee will be added for Wire Transfers. a. A 3% Credit Card processing fee will be added to all items paid with Credit Card. A separate invoice will be conveyed via email following auction for secure Credit Card payments via Square online processing system. b. Credit card charge backs will be considered fraud, will be denied, reported to LiveAuctioneers, and further prosecuted. c. Increased credit card limits and multiple payment methods, including Paypal, will be facilitated if approved by Auctioneer. 11. All residents of Louisiana are subject to a Louisiana State Sales Tax rate of 10% unless a valid LA State sales tax exemption certificate is presented before the sale or if the item is shipped. There will be a 1% fee added on as a payment-processing fee. 12. All sales are final. No lots are sold on approval. Placing a bid is a legally binding obligation. There are no returns or exchanges. All lots are sold as is, where is, with all the faults, imperfections, omissions and errors in the written description, estimates, appraisals, graphics and photography. The Auctioneer is not responsible for any errors or omissions in the description, graphics or photography provided or in the bidding software. a. Due diligence to verify the condition and description of a lot is the sole responsibility of the Bidder and this shall happen prior to placing any bid. b. Any unauthorized returns will be refused. Delivery refusal of items shipped by the Auctioneer to the Bidder constitutes an unauthorized return in direct violation of these Terms and Conditions of Sale. c. If for any reason a purchased lot cannot be delivered in the same condition as at the time of sale, or should any purchased lot be stolen, mis-delivered or lost prior to delivery, The Auctioneer shall not be liable for any amount in excess of that paid by the Purchaser. 13. In the event that a Bidder does not respond to the Auctioneer’s request for payment or does not fulfill complete payment within three business days, a second attempt for payment will be sent. A final invoice will be sent soon thereafter and if payment in full is not received the account will be reported to LiveAuctioneers as a non-responsive Bidder and the Bidder will not be able to participate in any further auctions. 14. Shipping will be handled in-house through domestic or international USPS Priority Mail or FedEx, unless otherwise specified by buyer. This is in an effort to maintain the lowest shipping and handling cost for our buyers. We provide handling, packing and shipping services solely as a convenience for our Bidders. Because Bidders most often opt for these services, we include an estimated amount in the auction invoice. a. Domestic and International shipments will be sent Insured for full amount, with full shipment tracking through Carrier (conveyed to Buyer when shipped), and with Signature Confirmation required upon delivery. b. For International deliveries where Tracking, Insurance, and/or Signature Required is not available, Buyer should make provisions for shipping, or waives all rights to recovery due to loss or damage to item(s) through shipping. 15. Our responsibility for damage to or loss of any lot ends once it has been turned over to the USPS, FedEx, or other shipping enterprise for packing and/or delivery. By bidding, the winning Bidder agrees that any and all claims for loss or damage to the lot will be handled solely through the insurance claims process (if insurance is available) or the carrier and acknowledges that insurance may be subject to deductibles or other limitations which are not the responsibility of the Auctioneer. The Auctioneer is not responsible to any loss resulting from items being shipped to an alternate address or recipient provided by Bidder. 16. We ship within a commercially reasonable time following credit of the Bidders payment to our account. On average, a Bidder may expect to receive their items within 1 to 2 weeks following their full payment of Bid with associated fees, and the actual cost of shipping, insurance, and associated fees. The actual cost of shipping, insurance, registry and confirmation services is charged to the Bidder, as well as a packing/handling fee not to exceed $3 per item, to defray the cost of labor and supplies involved. Large, heavy, fragile or otherwise unusual items will incur additional charges for packing or crating. 17. Under special circumstances, The Auctioneer may ship items using USPS Express Mail, private carriers or pack and ship enterprises, the cost of which shall be charged to the Bidder. The Auctioneer will not entertain shipment using lower classes of mail due to the increased risk of loss. Requests of earlier shipment or special handling may be accommodated on a limited basis at the Auctioneer’s sole discretion and ability and may incur additional handling charges. All costs charged to a Bidder's original invoice are estimates and The Auctioneer reserves the right to charge additional amounts if such estimates are exceeded and Bidder hereby agrees to such additional amounts. 18. Shipments to Alaska, US Territories and Foreign Countries - Shipping and handling charges to these locations are higher and often require registry or express mail. Insurance coverage to foreign locations may also be limited by the shipping carriers. The Auctioneer will ship items to foreign locations using the same classes of mail and additional postal services that it uses to ship to US locations, to the extent that such services are available, and, insurance coverage may be limited or unavailable. In the Auctioneer’s sole discretion, USPS shipments to foreign locations shall utilize registered mail and Bidder shall pay for the costs thereof. It is the foreign Bidder's obligation to be aware of and instruct the Auctioneer regarding any special taxes or fees applicable to their particular circumstances. a. International Bidders: YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE TO MEET ALL CUSTOMS/IMPORT-EXPORT REGULATIONS. WE WILL ASSIST BUT CANNOT BE HELD LIABLE FOR INTERNATIONAL LAWS AFFECTING THE DELIVERY OF YOUR ITEMS. 19. No items will be shipped to any Bidder for any particular auction until all charges for the auction have been paid in full and all funds have cleared. Even if paid in full, no items will be shipped to any Bidder for any particular auction if the Bidder has any balances with the Auctioneer from other auctions which are not in compliance with the provisions of payment above, until such balances are paid in full and all funds have cleared. The Auctioneer may, at its sole discretion, require any Bidder to return a signed sales receipt prior to shipping. 20. In consideration of the Auctioneer’s approval of a Bidder to bid in any sale, Bidder permits The Auctioneer to add Bidder to the Auctioneer’s mailing list. The Auctioneer will send information to Bidder relating to the Auctioneer’s activities and will not provide Bidders mailing information to third parties except as necessary to provide information to Bidder relating to the Auctioneer’s activities. Bidder may freely opt out of mailings at any time by following the instructions in any mailing and Bidder agrees that any mailings from the Auctioneer or third parties providing information relating to the Auctioneer are not spam. 21. Any and all of the conditions may be waived or modified in the sole discretion of the Auctioneer.