TERMS & CONDITIONS
Updated April 2026
1. SALE - Gonnelli Casa d'Aste S.r.l., with registered office in Florence, Via Fra' Giovanni Angelico 49, VAT no. and Tax Code 07540680480 ("Auction House"), holder of the trademark «Gonnelli Casa d'Aste» owned by Libreria Antiquaria Gonnelli Srl, acts as exclusive agent for the sale of lots of goods ("Lots"), at auction or by private treaty, in the name and on behalf of each owner of the Lots ("Seller"). The sale of the Lots shall be deemed to have taken place directly between the Seller and the person who, among those who have submitted bids for the purchase of one or more Lots ("Bidders"), has submitted the highest bid for the purchase of each of the Lots and is declared the successful bidder ("Buyer"); it follows that the Auction House assumes no liability of its own towards Bidders and/or the Buyer. These conditions apply in full also to lots sold privately by the Auction House at the end of the auction session (post-auction or after-sale).
2. VARIATIONS AND RESERVE PRICE - The Auction House reserves the right to withdraw one or more Lots from the auction, at its absolute and unquestionable discretion and without prior notice; in such case the Lots shall in any event be deemed not to have been awarded to the Bidders. During the auction the Auction House auctioneer ("Auctioneer"), at his absolute and unquestionable discretion, may decide the opening price of the Lots, vary the order of sale of the Lots, combine and/or separate the Lots, and formulate increments. The Auction House may refrain from awarding and/or withdraw from auction the Lots for which the highest bid among those of the Bidders has not reached the minimum reserve price agreed with the Seller ("Reserve Price"); in such case the Lots shall in any event be deemed not to have been awarded to the Bidders.
3. PARTICIPATION AND BIDS - Each Bidder, by submitting their bid for the purchase of the Lots, in the event of acceptance and award, undertakes to purchase the Lots and to pay the Auction House, for each of the Lots awarded, the amount ("Total Price") equal in total to the sum of the amount bid for the purchase of the awarded Lots, plus the Buyer's Premium referred to in § 5 below, plus any expenses referred to in § 6, letter (b), plus the further expenses provided for therein and any charges required by law. Written bids (including via the internet) will be valid only if complete in all their parts and received by the Auction House at least 24 hours before the start of the auction; bids below the opening price will not be accepted. Telephone participations will be valid only if received in writing from the bidder at least 24 hours before the start of the auction. Such telephone connections may be recorded solely for the purpose of demonstrating the Bidder's intention to compete for the award of lots at auction.
Except in the case of disputes, in any event the possible sale of the Lots shall only be deemed concluded upon full payment of the Total Price in favour of the Auction House.
The Auction House reserves the right not to accept bids and/or participations from parties who have been late or have failed to pay amounts due following previous awards.
4. AWARD - The Lots will be awarded and sold to the highest Bidder, at the hammer price, i.e. the price at which the lot is awarded at auction; in the event of bids of the same amount, the one received first shall prevail (subject to § 8). Bidders declare that they have examined and taken full cognisance of the Lots and unconditionally accept their possible award, even regardless of the description of the Lots in the auction catalogue. For the purposes of awarding the Lots, the minimum bid increments will be communicated by the Auctioneer. The Auctioneer awards the Lots and informs the Buyer of each of the Lots at the conclusion of the relevant auction and on the basis of the purchase bids received. Should any dispute arise during the course of the auction as to the identification of the Bidder, the Auctioneer may, at his absolute and unquestionable discretion, put the Lots back up for auction and proceed to a new award, or resume bidding from the previous offer.
5. BUYER'S PREMIUM - The Buyer, for each of the Lots awarded, undertakes to pay the Auction House the commission for the buyer's premium ("Buyer's Premium").
(a) at the rate of 27% of the hammer price of Lots awarded up to an amount of € 100,000.00;
(b) at the rate of 22% on the amount exceeding € 100,000.00 of the hammer price.
The Auction House applies the Special VAT margin scheme governed by Art. 40-bis of Legislative Decree 41/1995 and its subsequent amendments to the sale of goods at auction.
In the event of an online auction via platforms other than GonnelliLive, the Buyer's Premium referred to above will be increased by a further 3% on the hammer price.
6. PAYMENTS - The Total Price must be paid by the Buyer to the Auction House within the essential deadline of 7 (seven) days after the auction (in the event of delay, the provisions of § 11 below shall apply), in Euros and in a single payment, by the following means:
(a) in cash, up to the total amount of Euro 4,999.00, or any different amount required by law;
(b) by credit card (circuits accepted by the Auction House);
(c) by bank transfer to the account indicated by the Auction House, or by non-transferable bank drafts and/or certified cheques made payable to the Auction House (subject to successful credit).
The Auction House will consider only the Buyer solely responsible for payment, unless the Bidder has previously given written notice of participation in the name and on behalf of a third party.
Only upon full payment of the Total Price will ownership and possession of the Lots pass to the Buyer, subject to § 14.
7. DATA - For the purpose of participating in the auction, Bidders must complete and sign a participation form (the so-called bid form), which, in addition to the amount bid for the purchase of one or more Lots, also contains the relevant personal data and bank references, where required. Such data are processed in accordance with the applicable personal data protection regulations (Privacy), as per the relevant information notice issued by the Auction House. The Auction House reserves the right to refuse bids from parties not previously registered and/or identified, or who have not provided adequate bank references as required. In the event of an award, the data indicated in the bid form will be included in the header of the invoice. By signing the bid form, Bidders also undertake to fully and unconditionally accept these conditions of sale.
8. COMPETITION - The Auction House may bid on its own account and/or accept mandates for the purchase of certain Lots on behalf of its clients; in such case, the Auctioneer will submit bids and/or increments at auction, based on the instructions received. In the event of bids of the same amount, the bid received first by the Auction House shall prevail.
9. LIABILITY - The Auction House acts as authorised agent of the Seller and is exempt from any liability with regard to the provenance and description of the Lots in catalogues, illustrative materials, portals dedicated to online sales and on social channels; such descriptions, as well as any other indication or illustration, must be considered purely indicative and non-binding, and cannot give rise to any form of reliance by Bidders or the Buyer. The Auction House gives no warranty (direct or indirect) as to the condition, attribution, authenticity, or provenance of the Lots, the sole guarantor and responsible party for which remains exclusively the Seller, also towards Bidders and the Buyer. Accordingly, Bidders and the Buyer expressly release the Auction House from any liability regarding the condition, attribution, authenticity or provenance of the Lots. Without prejudice to the foregoing, catalogue descriptions may be supplemented at clients' request through the delivery of written reports (so-called condition reports). All auctions are preceded by the exhibition of the Lots, in order to allow a careful and thorough examination of their authenticity, state of conservation, provenance, type and quality, for which Bidders and the Buyer exclusively assume all risk and liability, including for the purposes of Art. 1488, para. 2, of the Italian Civil Code. After the award, neither the Auction House nor the Sellers may be held liable for any defects in the Lots, relating inter alia to the state of conservation, incorrect attribution, authenticity, provenance, weight or lack of quality of the Lots. To this end, Bidders and the Buyer expressly waive the warranty referred to in Art. 1490 of the Italian Civil Code, releasing the Auction House from all related liability; accordingly, neither the Auction House nor its staff may provide any valid warranty in this regard. In the event of participation in the auction by telephone or internet, Bidders release the Auction House from any liability in the event of technical or other problems that may prevent their full participation in the auction (by way of example, in the event of communication breakdowns, line problems, unavailability - for any reason - of the Bidders) and assume all risk as to the possible non-award of one or more Lots.
10. OPENING PRICES - The opening prices for each of the Lots, expressed in Euros, are indicated below the description of the Lots in the auction catalogue and do not include the commissions and other charges payable by the Buyer pursuant to these conditions of sale. Such prices may be subject to revision at any time, therefore the Lots may be offered at an opening price different from that indicated in the catalogue. The descriptions of the Lots in the catalogue may also be subject to revisions, which will be communicated during the auction as appropriate.
11. DELAYS - In the event that the Buyer fails to pay the Total Price within the essential deadline of 7 (seven) days from the award, the Auction House may terminate the award and/or the sale of the relevant Lots, pursuant to and for the purposes of Art. 1456 of the Italian Civil Code. In such case, the Auction House will in any event be entitled to receive payment from the Buyer, as a penalty, of an amount equal to the commissions lost on the Total Price, without prejudice to any greater loss, and may in any event retain any down payments made by the Buyer. Without prejudice to the foregoing, until the possible termination, beyond the aforesaid deadline the Lots awarded to the Buyer but not yet collected will be stored by the Auction House (at its own warehouses or those of third parties: see § 12), at the risk and expense of the Buyer, until the Buyer has paid in full all amounts due to the Auction House and collected the Lots.
12. COLLECTION - Unless otherwise agreed between the parties, the Buyer, after paying the Total Price in full, must collect the awarded Lots at their own care, risk and expense, within the following 7 (seven) days (a deadline that will be suspended, in cases where Legislative Decree no. 42/2004, the Cultural Heritage Code, is applicable, for the legal duration regarding pre-emption rights; see § 13 below). Once this deadline has passed without collection, the Auction House will be released from all liability in the event of damage or theft (total or partial) of the Lots occurring after the said deadline, the Buyer hereby waiving any right or action against the Auction House; furthermore, the Auction House may, at its unquestionable option and at the Buyer's expense, deposit the awarded Lots in its own warehouses (in which case the Buyer will owe the Auction House an additional amount equal to Euro 10.00 per day, per Lot) or in third-party warehouses, or dispatch the uncollected Lots to the Buyer, in any case with direct charge to the Buyer of all costs and expenses, and without prejudice to compensation for any greater loss. In the event of dispatch to the Buyer, the parties shall agree on the terms of dispatch, it being understood that all charges, risks and costs shall be borne by the Buyer, with express exclusion of liability for the Auction House. It is understood that for shipments of Lots with a Total Price up to € 10,000.00 in aggregate, the Auction House, at the Buyer's request, will be available to carry out the shipment on the Buyer's behalf via insured courier.
13. DECLARATION OF CULTURAL INTEREST, PRE-EMPTION AND EXPORT - Buyers will be required, for items in the Lots subject to the procedure for declaration of cultural interest (so-called notification) pursuant to Art. 13 et seq. of Legislative Decree no. 42/2004, to comply with all provisions of the Cultural Heritage Code and all other applicable regulations, including those relating to customs, currency and taxation. It is the Buyer's exclusive responsibility to verify any restrictions on the export of awarded Lots or any licences or certificates required by law (issued or to be issued), with the express release of any possible obligation and/or liability on the part of the Auction House.
In the event of the exercise of pre-emption rights pursuant to Arts. 60 et seq. of Legislative Decree no. 42/2004, or of compulsory purchase pursuant to Art. 70 of the same law, the Buyer shall not be entitled to claim anything, on any grounds, from the Auction House and/or the Seller, other than the mere restitution of amounts already paid as a result of the award of the Lots.
Lots possibly marked with the symbol (TI) are in a regime of temporary importation into Italian territory by a foreign Seller.
Lots may already have been the subject of a declaration of cultural interest by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism pursuant to Art. 13 of the Cultural Heritage Code. In such case - or where in relation to the Lots the procedure for declaration of cultural interest pursuant to Art. 14 of the Urbani Code has been initiated - the Auction House will provide notice of this in the catalogue and/or by an announcement from the auctioneer before the relevant Lots are offered for sale.
In the event that the Lots were the subject of a declaration of cultural interest prior to the award, the Auction House will notify the competent Ministry of the sale.
The sale of the Lots will be subject to the condition precedent of non-exercise by the competent Ministry of its right of pre-emption within the legal timeframe (sixty days from the date of receipt of the notification). Pending the deadline for the exercise of pre-emption, the Lots may not be delivered to the Buyer pursuant to Art. 61 of the Cultural Heritage Code.
The dispatch of Lots abroad is subject to the obtaining of any document required for export under the Cultural Heritage Code and subsequent provisions, where applicable. The obtaining of the necessary export documents is the exclusive responsibility of the Buyer; the Auction House may, at the Buyer's request and upon payment of the purchase invoice, proceed to apply for the same upon payment of a lump-sum fee of Euro 50.00 for each of the Lots subject to the notification. Should the Buyer not wish to entrust the Auction House with the management of the export procedure, they may contact a forwarding agent of their choice, upon signing an indemnity and waiver of any liability in favour of the Auction House. In any case, the Auction House will not be held liable for any issues relating to the export procedure, including delays or refusals in obtaining the documentation necessary for the export of the Lots, the timing and assessment of which depend exclusively on the competent Export Office.
14. DISPUTES - The Buyer expressly releases the Auction House from any liability regarding the authenticity, defects and characteristics of the Lots and waives any claim, on any grounds, against the Auction House. Any claims (including for damages) and/or disputes by the Buyer regarding the forgery or falsification or other substantial non-manifest defects of the awarded Lots (or parts thereof) shall be addressed exclusively to the Seller by forwarding them to the Auction House by recorded delivery (raccomandata A/R) within the essential deadline of 30 (thirty) days from the date of the award. Only where there are disputes that are clearly and documentably well-founded and received within the essential deadline of 30 (thirty) days from the date of the award, the Auction House may, at its unquestionable discretion and subject to the following provisions, cancel the sale of the relevant Lots and, against the return of the Lots in the same condition as at the date of the award, refund the Buyer the amounts paid by the latter for the purchase. The right of the Auction House to retain any amounts paid in the meantime by the Buyer, on any grounds, before the dispute shall remain in full force and unaffected; such amounts may be the subject of a damages claim by the Buyer against the Seller.
15. TYPES OF GOODS - The lots offered at auction are sold in the condition in which they are found at the time of the exhibition, with all their relative defects and imperfections such as breaks, restorations, missing parts or replacements. Such characteristics, even if not expressly indicated in the catalogue, cannot be considered as grounds for disputes about the sale.
As regards Lots containing books and/or manuscripts and/or prints or other paper-based items, any disputes relating to the following are in any case excluded: damage to the binding, and/or stains, and/or woodworm holes, and/or trimmed pages or plates and/or any other defect that does not affect the completeness of the text and/or illustrative apparatus; as well as absence of indices or plates, and/or blank pages, and/or insertions, and/or supplements and appendices published subsequent to the work; any disputes relating to Lots containing books not described in the catalogue are also excluded.
As regards Lots comprising paintings, pictures, prints and similar, any dispute relating to frames is excluded where the frames are presented as merely forming part of a painting and therefore devoid of independent value. In these cases, all risk and danger in this regard is borne exclusively by the Buyer.
Antique items by their very nature may have been the subject of restorations or modifications of various kinds, such as overpainting: interventions of this type can never be considered latent defects or forgery of a lot.
Electrical or mechanical items are not subject to functional verification prior to sale and are purchased by the successful bidder under their own exclusive responsibility. Watch movements are to be considered unserviced, unless otherwise explicitly stated.
Information relating to hallmarks, gold title and weight, diamond carat and colour stone quality reported in the catalogue is purely indicative and descriptive. Gonnelli Casa d'Aste assumes no responsibility for any inaccuracies in the said indications nor for alterations or falsifications of precious materials carried out with fraudulent intent.
Gemmological certificates issued by independent laboratories and possibly attached to lots are not guaranteed by Gonnelli Casa d'Aste. Any reference to the results of such expert reports, where cited, is for the exclusive purpose of providing information to potential buyers and does not modify the conditions of sale nor bind the Auction House as to the authenticity or commercial value of the item.
16. THIRD PARTIES - In the event that the Auction House becomes aware of any possible claim or right of third parties relating to the ownership, possession or holding of one or more Lots, it may, at its unquestionable discretion, withdraw such Lots from sale and/or retain such Lots in custody, pending the necessary verifications and/or resolution of any dispute arising.
17. ACCEPTANCE AND JURISDICTION - These conditions of sale are fully accepted, without any reservation, by Bidders, the Buyer and all others participating in the auction (including by telephone or internet). In the event of translation into another language of the conditions of sale, the conditions of sale in the Italian language text shall prevail and remain valid and binding. These conditions of sale are governed by Italian law; all disputes arising therefrom shall be referred, exclusively, to the jurisdiction of the Court of Florence.
18. ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING NOTICE - The client acknowledges and accepts, pursuant to and for the purposes of Art. 22 of Legislative Decree no. 231/2007 (Anti-Money Laundering Decree), to provide all necessary and up-to-date information to enable Gonnelli to fulfil its customer due diligence obligations. It is understood that the completion of the purchase is subject to the client providing Gonnelli with the information required for compliance with the aforementioned obligations.
19. TERMINOLOGY AND DEFINITIONS
Statements regarding the author, attribution, origin, period, provenance and condition of lots in the catalogue are to be considered as a personal opinion of the experts and scholars possibly consulted and not a statement of fact.
Such indications are therefore to be considered purely indicative and non-binding for the Auction House, nor do they constitute any guarantee on its part, and cannot give rise to any form of reliance by Bidders or the Buyer, as further explained in Art. 9 of these general conditions of sale.
AUTHOR
• [ANNIBALE CARRACCI]: it is our opinion that the work was executed by the named artist.
• [ATTRIBUTED TO ANNIBALE CARRACCI]: it is our opinion that the work was probably executed by the named artist, but with less certainty than in the previous category.
• [AFTER ANNIBALE CARRACCI]: it is our opinion that it is a copy of a known painting by the artist, but executed by a different artist.
• [CIRCLE OF] [SCHOOL OF] [IN THE MANNER OF]: it is our opinion that the work, in terms of style, period or subject matter, can be associated with the school of the named artist, but is not necessarily by one of his pupils.
• [IN THE STYLE OF]: it is our opinion that the work is in the style of the artist, but from a later period.
• [AFTER], [POST]: A work of art that has been reproduced after the date of creation of the original work or after the death of the author.
• "SIGNED", "DATED", "INSCRIBED": it is our opinion that the signature and/or date and/or inscription are by the hand of the artist.
• "BEARING SIGNATURE - DATE - INSCRIPTION": it is our opinion that the signature and/or date and/or inscription have been added.
• (2): the number in brackets after the lot description indicates the physical quantity of items comprising it. Where not indicated, it is understood that the lot consists of a single item.
Measurements of works are expressed in millimetres height by width and refer to the dimensions of the matrix (plate or lithographic stone) when complete, otherwise to the dimensions of the sheet; measurements of paintings and objects are expressed in centimetres. Measurements of drawings refer to the dimensions of the sheet. For the state of conservation of works, buyers are requested to view them directly or to request specific information from Gonnelli Casa d'Aste.
The list of abbreviated citations used in the descriptions and the corresponding full bibliographies are available on our website. An Index of Authors is included at the end of the catalogue.
