On May 21, the Guild of Experts, Appraisers and Specialists in the field of circulation of cultural property at the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry held a conference, with the theme: "The introduction of clarifications in the methods of assessment of objects of art in connection with a sharp drop in auction prices on the art market in Russia, the suspension of activities of international auction houses and the development of proposals for insuring exhibiting activities.”
The Chairman of the Guild of Experts, Appraisers and Specialists, concerned with the circulation of cultural property at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Alexander Eliseev, spoke about current issues in evaluating art objects in the art markets. In particular, about auctions held in Russia and abroad.
Referring to the conundrum of providing expertise, Mr. Eliseev stressed that it must meet certain requirements. Obviously, it should be not be just descriptively narrative, but evidentiary and factual. As for provenance - the history of possession of a work of art - sometimes diverse meanings are implied within the content of the term at home vs. The one abroad. In Europe, the existence of an object from the time it was created to the time it was put up for sale is considered provenance. In the Russian Federation, according to Mr. Eliseev, sometimes the word “being" or “existence” is used, with different variants on completeness of the available information, which is provided together with a document, bearing the name "provenance". Abroad, it is treated more rigorously because the responsibility and liability are much greater.
Speaking about the obligations of an auction house, Mr. Eliseev noted that the main difference with European auction houses is that if they conclude agreements, they do carry out thorough inspections with the involvement of Interpol. In addition, a specialist of an auction house, as a rule, wants to know the opinion of a world-renowned expert. In the Russian Federation, this is treated differently.
The speaker also spoke about establishing the original value of an object of art, less the profit of an auction house, which it receives from the owner, who was initially notified, and the minimum, below which value an object will not be sold. Among the particularly important conditions, the speaker singled out art objects’ insurance, which is carried out according to international standards. As an established practice already, auction houses are taking into account all new international legal agreements. In particular, investors are checked for legality of money’s origin. Both auction houses and private galleries use this as a guide for concluding transactions.
The speaker also spoke about the rules of Internet auctions. “It is a unique situation, involving forensics. If there's an available expertise, it is OK, if there is not, it is also OK. It is acceptable! Moreover, in the absence of an owner’s expertise, the owner is allowed to involve the help of partners of an auction house, and the conclusion is made about the auction in the form of an oral consultation,” to Mr. Eliseev’s amazement “and which is completely unacceptable for foreign auctions.” He called this state of affairs "a unique legal situation in terms of auction’s liability". In the Internet auction, the value of an object is determined by the owner. This is despite the fact that there are not many experts in art value determination.
The object itself is stored in an office of an auction house, and after the auction may be moved only within the territory of the Russian Federation, if there is such an agreement. These items are not transported abroad. The rules of Internet auctions do not specify any terms, concerning the insuring of items. Including their stay in the office. Also, the rules do not specify anything about liability in case of controversial situations.
"Every auction house must be responsible for what it sells. A person, who buys an item at an auction, must be assured that there are appropriate guarantees provided by an auction house. “As opposed to an auction abroad, due to the shortcomings mentioned above, a buyer, dealing with a Russian auction house, cannot be sure in many circumstances." - summed up Mr. Eliseev.
Participants of the webinar agreed that there is a need to unite collectors, those who act as auctioneers, in order to "reflect all the interests of this category of investors". Otherwise, as practice shows, without a consolidated opinion of the art market participants, there will be "contentious situations involving the circulation of art objects”.