Storage conditions
These Storage Conditions set out the basis on which Christie’s stores property. Any amendment to, or waiver of, these Storage Conditions is effective only if agreed between you and Christie’s in writing. For sale property, the terms of the applicable seller’s agreement shall prevail if inconsistent with these Storage Conditions.
You will find a glossary at the end of these Storage Conditions explaining the meaning of the words highlighted in bold.
1. Free Storage Period
Christie’s storage services are provided as a convenience to Christie’s clients and are not an alternative to long-term fine art/collectible storage. Therefore, property must be collected no later than thirty (30) days following:
1.1. Purchased property (auction) - the date of the auction;
1.2. Unsold sale property (auction) – the expiry of the after-sale period (or, if there is no after-sale period, the date of the auction);
1.3. Other property (including, but not limited to, property with Christie’s for the purposes of valuation or expertise) - the date that Christie’s received possession or control of the property.
1.4. Unsold sale property (private sale) - the expiry of the private sale seller’s agreement; and
1.5. Other property (including, but not limited to, property with Christie’s for the purposes of valuation or expertise) - the date that Christie’s took possession or control of the property.
If any property has not been not collected by the end of the free storage period, then storage fees may become due and payable as set out in paragraph 3 below. Paying storage fees does not override your obligation to collect the property.
2. Location and access
2.1. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, Christie’s will decide in its sole discretion where any property is to be stored.
2.2. Access to property while in storage at a storage facility will only be provided on an exceptional basis (to be determined in Christie’s sole discretion). If you need access to your property, please contact Christie’s Post-Sale Service at 212-636-2650 or PostsaleUS@christies.com.
3. Storage Fees and Costs
3.1. Christie’s will be entitled to charge Storage Fees upon expiry of the applicable free storage period. We will notify you to the address set out on your invoice that the storage fees will be charged. Christie’s storage fees and details of how to pay are available on Christie’s website at staging.christies.com/storagefees. All storage fees are exclusive of applicable sales and use taxes, which will be added to your invoice at the appropriate rate. Invoices for storage fees are payable in the invoiced currency on the due date set out on the invoice (the “due date”). Without limiting the foregoing, all purchased property (bought through either auction or private sale and located in New York) will be subject to New York City sales tax when such purchased property has not been collected one hundred eighty (180) days after payment has been made.
3.2. Christie’s may seven (7) days after the date of the auction in addition to any other rights or remedies it has by law:
(i) exercise all rights and remedies of a person holding security over your property, whether by way of pledge, security interest or otherwise as permitted by the law of the place where such property is located. You will be deemed to have granted such security to Christie’s and Christie’s may retain such property as collateral security for your obligations to Christie’s;
(ii) sell your property in any way Christie’s feels, in its sole discretion, to be reasonably appropriate and pay you the balance of the price realized after deduction of all amounts due to Christie’s;
(iii) transfer the property to a third-party storage facility and you will be subject to the third-party storage facility’s standard terms and directly responsible to pay the third-party storage facility’s fees and costs; and
(iv) take any other action Christie’s sees necessary or appropriate.
3.3. Nothing in this paragraph 3 shall act to limit any rights Christie’s may have in any seller’s agreement or conditions of sale applicable to the property.
4. Collection
4.1. You will provide Christie’s with at least 48 hours’ prior written notice of your intention to collect any property. Collection may only be made during working hours. Information on collecting property (including working hours) is set out on an information sheet which you can obtain from the bidder registration staff, Christie’s cashiers at (212) 636-2495 or Christie’s website at staging.christies.com/storage.
4.2. You may not collect any property until you have made full and clear payment of the purchase price (in the case of purchased property) and all storage fees and other amounts due to Christie’s from you.
5. Physical Loss and Damage Liability
5.1. Christie’s accepts responsibility for any physical loss or damage to the property during the applicable free storage period, subject to paragraph 5.2 below.
5.2. For unsold sale property, Christie’s liability under paragraph 5.1 above will be limited as set out in the applicable seller’s agreement. For purchased property and other property, Christie’s liability under paragraph 5.1 shall be limited as follows:
(i) in the case of purchased property, Christie’s will not pay more than the hammer price or private sale purchase price (as applicable);
(ii) in the case of all other property, in the absence of an agreed (in writing) loss, damage and liability value, Christie’s will not pay more than its reasonable estimate of the auction value of the property as determined in Christie’s sole discretion;
(iii) Christie’s will not be liable for any physical loss or damage to the property caused by climatic or atmospheric conditions beyond Christie’s control as long as Christie’s takes reasonable care and skill in handling the property to reduce the risk of physical loss or damage; and
(iv) by certain other conditions which are available from Christie’s or on Christie’s website at staging.christies.com/liabilityterms.
5.3. Unless otherwise agreed in writing with you, Christie’s responsibility for physical loss or damage to the property shall end on the earlier of collection of the property or the expiry of the applicable free storage period. You agree that you will be liable for any physical loss or damage to the property once Christie’s responsibility has ended and:
(i) you hereby release Christie’s, its officers, employees, agents, contractors and insurers, from and against any and all liability for physical loss of or damage to the property;
(ii) you agree to pay Christie’s, any Christie's group company, applicable employee or agents (a) the full amount of any claim made against Christie’s or them for physical loss of, or damage to any property; and (b) any costs and expenses Christie’s has to pay as a result of a claim;
(iii) you agree that this paragraph 5.3 will apply no matter what caused the physical loss or damage to the property (including Christie’s negligence) and even if Christie’s pays compensation without its legal liability having first been proved; and
(iv) you agree to arrange appropriate insurance for all property including for the risk of physical loss or damage caused by negligence and will (A) notify your insurance carrier/company of this and (B) arrange for them to waive any right of subrogation against Christie’s, its officers, employees, agents, contractors and insurers with respect to any loss of or damage to the property while it remains in Christie’s or its agent’s care, custody and control.
5.4. Even if, despite the terms of paragraph 5.3 above, Christie’s is found to be liable for any physical loss of, or damage, to any property, Christie’s will not have to pay more in total than $75,000 or its reasonable estimate of the auction value of the property, whichever is lower.
5.5. Christie’s may, at its option, agree to continue to accept responsibility for physical loss or damage to the property after the end of the applicable free storage period, subject to payment of loss damage liability fees and certain other conditions. If you would like further details please contact Christie’s Post Sale Service at 212-636-2650 or PostsaleUS@christies.com.
6. Uncollected property and right of sale
6.1. Even when you have paid all applicable storage fees, any property not collected by you within six (6) calendar months after the end of the applicable free storage period may be sold or transferred by Christie’s in accordance with paragraphs 3.2 (ii) and 3.2 (iii) above.
6.2. If paragraph 6.1 applies and Christie’s considers, in its sole discretion, that the property is not suitable for sale, Christie’s may at its option:
(i) ship the property back to you at your cost to the last known address Christie’s has for you on its records. Christie’s shall have no obligation to verify that such address is correct. Such shipment shall be entirely at your own risk and Christie’s shall have no liability to you under any circumstances; or
(ii) dispose of the property as Christie’s sees fit, subject to applicable law.
6.3. If you owe money to another Christie's group company, Christie’s can retain your property and sell it in any way Christie’s thinks reasonably appropriate, deduct the monies owed from the price realized and pay such monies to the applicable Christie's group company and you the balance.
7. Dangerous property
Christie’s reserves the right to remove from Christie’s storage and/or destroy any property at any time (without any liability to you) that Christie’s deems, in its sole discretion:
7.1. to be explosive, dangerous or deleterious, or anything which may cause injury, damage or nuisance, or the possession of which is or is suspected to be illegal or connected with the proceeds of criminal activity, or which may not lawfully be deposited in the storage facility;
7.2. the condition of which renders it unacceptable for storage in accordance with these Storage Conditions or is otherwise not in acceptable condition (by normal criteria); and/or
7.3. which is harbouring moth, vermin, woodworm or any other living thing, or any thing or substance which might cause damage to the storage facility, or to any person or property within it.
8. Indemnity
You shall indemnify and hold Christie’s harmless in respect of any and all third-party actions, causes of actions, claims, demands, costs, liabilities, expenses and damages (including attorneys’ fees) arising out of or in connection with the storage of any property. Where property is owned by you jointly with other persons, the liability of you and such other persons shall be joint and several.
9. Acceptance of instructions
Unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing (and notwithstanding that the property may be jointly owned), Christie’s will only accept instructions from the (i) the purchaser as regards purchased property (ii) the seller as regards unsold sale property and (iii) the person who left the property in Christie’s care as regards other property.
10. Personal Representatives
These Storage Conditions shall be binding on your successors, assigns, personal representatives and all other persons lawfully acting on your behalf.
11. Notices
11.1. Any notice given by Christie’s to you under these Storage Conditions shall be deemed to be duly given 48 hours after it is posted if sent by first-class mail, or when delivered, or when it is dispatched if sent by fax or email, to the owner’s (or any one of the owners where the property is jointly owned) address, as set out in the seller’s agreement or an address given in any other documentation or correspondence Christie’s has with/for you, or as otherwise notified in writing by you to Christie’s.
11.2. All communications under these Storage Conditions to Christie’s shall be signed by you and sent to Christie’s Post-Sale Service, 20 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, New York 10020, or to such person and/or addressee as Christie’s may advise.
12. General
12.1. These Storage Conditions shall not create a landlord/tenant relationship between you and Christie’s.
12.2. Other than where expressly provided in these Storage Conditions to the contrary, nothing in these Storage Conditions is intended to confer any benefit on any third party (whether referred to herein by class, description or otherwise) or any right to enforce a term contained in these Storage Conditions.
12.3. If any part of these Storage Conditions is determined by any court or other competent authority to be illegal, invalid and/or unenforceable, that part may be discounted and the rest of the Storage Conditions shall continue to be valid and enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by law.
12.4. No delay or omission by Christie’s in exercising any rights in respect of a breach by you shall prejudice Christie’s rights as to that or any future breach. A waiver by Christie’s of any breach of any provision of these Storage Conditions by you shall not (i) prejudice Christie’s rights regarding that breach or (ii) be deemed to be a waiver of a subsequent breach by you of that or any other provision of these Storage Conditions.
13. Law and Jurisdiction
These Storage Conditions and any rights arising outside of but related to these terms shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York without regard to its principles of conflicts of laws. Any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of, relating to, or in connection with this Storage Conditions, or the breach, termination, or validity thereof (“Dispute”), shall be submitted to JAMS, or its successor, for mediation in New York. If the Dispute is not settled by mediation within 60 days from the date when mediation is initiated, then the Dispute shall be submitted to JAMS, or its successor, for final and binding arbitration in accordance with its Comprehensive Arbitration Rules and Procedures or, if the Dispute involves a non-U.S. party, the JAMS International Arbitration Rules. The seat of the arbitration shall be New York and the arbitration shall be conducted by one arbitrator, who shall be appointed within 30 days after the initiation of the arbitration. The language used in the arbitral proceedings will be English. The arbitrator shall order the production of documents only upon a showing that such documents are relevant and material to the outcome of the Dispute. The arbitration shall be confidential, except to the extent necessary to enforce a judgment or where disclosure is required by law. The arbitration award shall be final and binding on all parties involved. Judgment upon the award may be entered by any court having jurisdiction thereof or having jurisdiction over the relevant party or its assets. This arbitration and any proceedings conducted hereunder shall be governed by Title 9 (Arbitration) of the United States Code and by the United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards of June 10, 1958.
Glossary
after-sale period: has the meaning given to it in the applicable seller’s agreement.
Christie’s: means (i) in the case of unsold sale property, the Christie’s group company with which you have a seller’s agreement; or (ii) in the case of purchased property, the Christie’s group company through which you purchased the applicable property; or (iii) in the case of other property, the
Christie’s group company in whose care you left the applicable property.
Christie’s group company: means Christie’s International plc and other companies within its corporate group.
free storage period: means the applicable period specified in paragraph 1.
hammer price : the amount of the highest bid the auctioneer accepts for the sale of a lot of property.
lien: means a right under law to keep possession of property belonging to another person until a debt owed by that person is discharged.
purchase price: has the meaning given to it in the applicable conditions of sale.
premises: means any premises used by any company within the Christie’s International plc’s group of companies.
property: means artworks and other collectable items left in Christie’s care.
purchased property: means property purchased in a Christie’s auction or through Christie’s by private sale.
reserve: means the confidential amount below which Christie’s will not sell a lot of property.
sale property: means property consigned with Christie’s for sale by auction or private sale.
seller’s agreement: means a Seller’s Agreement for auction or Private Sale Agreement under which property is consigned to a Christie’s company for sale.
storage facility: means any facility which Christie’s deem to be suitable for storing an item, considering its nature, size, value and availability of suitable storage facilities.
storage fees: means Christie’s fees and costs for storing property
unsold sale property: means (i) sale property consigned for sale by auction which remains unsold at auction, and (if applicable) at the end of any after-sale period; and (ii) sale property consigned for sale by private sale which remains unsold on expiry of the applicable seller’s agreement.
These Storage Conditions set out the basis on which Christie’s stores property. Any amendment to, or waiver of, these Storage Conditions is effective only if agreed between you and Christie’s in writing. For sale property, the terms of the applicable seller’s agreement shall prevail if inconsistent with these Storage Conditions.
You will find a glossary at the end of these Storage Conditions explaining the meaning of the words highlighted in bold.
1. Free Storage Period
Christie’s storage services are provided purely as a short-term convenience to Christie’s clients and are not an alternative to long-term fine art/collectible storage. Therefore, property must be collected no later than thirty (30) days following:
1.1. Purchased property (auction) - the date of the auction;
1.2. Unsold sale property (auction) – the expiry of the after-sale period (or, if there is no after-sale period, the date of the auction); and
1.3. Other property (including, but not limited to, property with Christie’s for the purposes of valuation or expertise) - the date that Christie’s received possession or control of the property.
1.4. Unsold sale property (private sale) - the expiry of the private sale seller’s agreement; and
1.5. Other property (including, but not limited to, property with Christie’s for the purposes of valuation or expertise) - the date that Christie’s took possession or control of the property.
If any property has not been not collected by the end of this free storage period then storage fees may become due and payable as set out in paragraph 3 below. Paying storage fees does not override your obligation to collect the property.
2. Location and access
2.1. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, Christie’s will decide in its sole discretion where any property is to be stored.
2.2. Access to property while in storage at a storage facility will only be provided to you on an exceptional basis (to be determined in Christie’s sole discretion). If you need access to your property, please contact Post-Sale Service on +44(0) 207 752 3200 Email: PostSaleUK@Christies.com.
3. Storage Fees
3.1. Christie’s will be entitled to charge Storage Fees upon expiry of the applicable free storage period. We will notify you to the address set out on your invoice that the storage fees will be charged. Christie’s storage fees and details of how to pay are available on Christie’s website at staging.christies.com/storagefees. All storage fees are exclusive of applicable VAT and sales taxes, which will be added to your invoice at the appropriate rate. Invoices for storage fees are payable in the invoiced currency on the due date set out on the invoice (the “due date”).
3.2. Christie’s may seven (7) days after the date of the auction in addition to any other rights or remedies it has by law:
(i) exercise all rights and remedies of a person holding security over your property, whether by way of pledge, security interest or otherwise as permitted by the law of the place where such property is located. You will be deemed to have granted such security to Christie’s and Christie’s may retain such property as collateral security for your obligations to Christie’s;
(ii) sell your property in any way Christie’s feel, in its sole discretion, to be reasonably appropriate and pay you the balance of the price realised after deduction of all amounts due to Christie’s;
(iii) transfer the property to a third party storage facility and you will be subject to the third party storage facility’s standard terms and directly responsible to pay the third party storage facility’s fees and costs; and
(iv) take any other action Christie’s see necessary or appropriate.
3.3. Nothing in this paragraph 3 shall act to limit any rights we may have in any seller’s agreement or conditions of sale applicable to the property.
4. Collection
4.1. You will provide Christie’s with at least 48 hours’ prior written notice of your intention to collect any property. Collection may only be made during working hours. Information on collecting property (including working hours) is set out on an information sheet which you can obtain from the bidder registration staff, Christie’s cashiers on +44 (0)20 7839 9060 or Christie’s website at staging.christies.com/storage.
4.2. You may not collect any property until you have made full and clear payment of the purchase price (in the case of purchased property) and all storage fees and other amounts due to Christie’s from you.
5. Physical Loss and Damage Liability
5.1. Christie’s accepts responsibility for any physical loss or damage to the property during the applicable free storage period, subject to paragraph 5.2 below.
5.2. For unsold sale property, Christie’s liability under paragraph 5.1 above will be limited as set out in the applicable seller’s agreement. For purchased property and other property Christie’s liability under paragraph 5.1 shall be limited as follows:
i) in the case of purchased property, Christie’s will not pay more than the hammer price or private sale purchase price (as applicable);
(ii) in the case of all other property, in the absence of an agreed (in writing) loss, damage and liability value, Christie’s will not pay more than its reasonable estimate of the auction value of the property as determined in Christie’s sole discretion;
(iii) Christie’s will not be liable for any physical loss or damage to any lot of property caused by climatic or atmospheric conditions beyond Christie’s control as long as Christie’s take reasonable care and skill in handling the property to reduce the risk of physical loss or damage; and
(iv) by certain other conditions which are available from Christie’s or on Christie’s website at staging.christies.com/liabilityterms.
5.3. Unless otherwise agreed in writing with you, Christie’s responsibility for physical loss or damage to the property shall end on the earlier of collection of the property or the expiry of the applicable free storage period. You agree that you will be liable for any physical loss or damage to the property once Christie’s responsibility has ended and:
(i) you hereby release Christie’s, its officers, employees, agents, contractors and insurers, from and against any and all liability for physical loss of or damage to the property;
(ii) you agree to pay Christie’s, any Christie's group company, Christie’s respective employees and applicable agents (a) the full amount of any claim made against Christie’s or them for physical loss of, or damage to, any property; and (b) any costs and expenses Christie’s have to pay as a result of a claim;
(iii) you agree that this paragraph 5.3 will apply no matter what caused the physical loss or damage to the property (including Christie’s negligence) and even if Christie’s pay compensation without its legal liability having first been proved; and
(iv) you agree to arrange appropriate insurance for all property including for the risk of physical loss or damage caused by negligence and will (A) notify your insurance carrier/company of this and (B) arrange for them to waive any right of subrogation against Christie’s, its officers, employees, agents, contractors and insurers with respect to any loss of or damage to the property while it remains in Christie’s or its agent’s care, custody or control.
5.4. Even if, despite the terms of paragraph 5.3 above, we are found to be liable for any physical loss of, or damage, to any property, we will not have to pay more in total than £50,000 or Christie’s reasonable estimate of the auction value of the property whichever is lower.
5.5. Christie’s may, at its option, agree in writing to continue to accept responsibility for physical loss or damage to the property after the end of the applicable free storage period, subject to payment of loss damage liability fees and certain other conditions. If you would like further details please contact Post-Sale Service on +44(0) 207 752 3200 Email: PostSaleUK@Christies.com.
6. Uncollected property and right of sale
6.1. Even when you have paid all applicable storage fees, any property not collected by you within six (6) calendar months of the end of the applicable free storage period may be sold or transferred by Christie’s in accordance with paragraphs 3.2 (ii) and (iii) above.
6.2. If paragraph 6.1 applies and Christie’s consider, in its sole discretion, that the property is not suitable for sale, Christie’s may at its option:
(i) ship the property back to you at your cost to the last known address Christie’s have for you on its records. Christie’s shall have no obligation to verify that such address is correct. Such shipment shall be entirely at your own risk and Christie’s shall have no liability to you under any circumstances; or
(ii) dispose of the property as Christie’s see fit.
6.3. If you owe money to another Christie's group company Christie’s can retain your property and sell it in any way Christie’s think reasonably appropriate, deduct the monies owed from the price realised and pay such monies to the applicable Christie's group company and you the balance.
7. Dangerous property
Christie’s reserve the right to remove from its storage and/or destroy any property at any time (without any liability to you) that Christie’s deem, in its sole discretion:
7.1. to be explosive, dangerous or deleterious, or anything which may cause injury, damage or nuisance, or the possession of which is or is suspected to be illegal or connected with the proceeds of criminal activity, or which may not lawfully be deposited in the storage facility;
7.2. the condition of which renders it unacceptable for storage in accordance with these Storage Conditions or is otherwise not in acceptable condition (by normal criteria); and/or
7.3. which is harbouring moth, vermin, woodworm or any other living thing, or anything or substance which might cause damage to the storage facility, or to any person or property within it.
8. Indemnity
You shall indemnify and hold Christie’s harmless in respect of any and all third party actions, causes of actions, claims, demands, costs, liabilities, expenses and damages (including legal fees) arising out of or in connection with Christie’s storage of any property. Where property is owned by you jointly with other persons, the liability of you and such other persons shall be joint and several.
9. Acceptance of instructions
Unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing (and notwithstanding that the property may be jointly owned) we will only accept instructions from the (i) the purchaser as regards purchased property (ii) the seller as regards unsold sale property and (iii) the person who left the property in Christie’s care as regards other property.
10. Personal Representatives
These Storage Conditions shall be binding on your successors, assigns, personal representatives and all other persons lawfully acting on your behalf.
11. Notices
11.1. Any notice given by Christie’s to you under these Storage Conditions shall be deemed to be duly given 48 hours after it is posted if sent by first class post, or when delivered, or when it is despatched if sent by fax or email, to the owner’s (or any one of the owners where the property is jointly owned) address, as set out in the seller’s agreement or an address given in any other documentation or correspondence Christie’s have with/for you, or as otherwise notified in writing by you to Christie’s.
11.2. All communications under these Storage Conditions to Christie’s shall be signed by you and sent to the Post-Sale Service on +44(0) 207 752 3200 Email: PostSaleUK@Christies.com or to such person and/or addressee as we may advise.
12. General
12.1. These Storage Conditions shall not create a landlord/tenant relationship between us.
12.2. Other than where expressly provided in these Storage Conditions to the contrary, nothing in these Storage Conditions is intended to confer any benefit on any third party (whether referred to herein by class description or otherwise) or any right to enforce a term contained in these Storage Conditions.
12.3. If any part of these Storage Conditions is determined by any court or other competent authority to be illegal, invalid and/or unenforceable, that part may be discounted and the rest of the Storage Conditions shall continue to be valid and enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by law.
12.4. No delay or omission by Christie’s in exercising any rights in respect of a breach by you shall prejudice Christie’s rights as to that or any future breach. A waiver by Christie’s of any breach of any provision of these Storage Conditions by you shall not (i) prejudice Christie’s rights regarding that breach or (ii) be deemed to be a waiver of a subsequent breach by you of that or any other provision of these Storage Conditions.
13. Law and Jurisdiction
These Storage Conditions and any rights arising outside of but related to these terms shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of England. Before either Christie’s or you start any court proceedings (except in the limited circumstances where the dispute, controversy or claim is related to a lawsuit brought by a third party and this dispute could be joined to that proceeding), and if we both agree, we will each attempt to settle the dispute by mediation following the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) Model Mediation Procedure. This will be with a mediator affiliated with CEDR and mutually acceptable to each of us. If the dispute is not settled by mediation, you agree for Christie’s benefit, that the dispute will be referred to and dealt with exclusively in the courts of England and Wales. However, Christie’s will have the right to bring proceedings against you in any other court.
Glossary
after-sale period: has the meaning given to it in the applicable seller’s agreement.
Christie’s: means (i) in the case of unsold sale property, the Christie’s group company with which you have a seller’s agreement; or (ii) in the case of purchased property, the Christie’s group company through which you purchased the applicable property; or (iii) in the case of other property, the Christie’s group company in whose care you left the applicable property.
Christie’s group: means Christie’s International plc and other companies within its corporate group.
free storage period: means the applicable period specified in paragraph 1.
hammer price : the amount of the highest bid the auctioneer accepts for the sale of a lot of property.
lien: means a right under law to keep possession of property belonging to another person until a debt owed by that person is discharged.
purchase price: has the meaning given to it in the applicable conditions of sale.
premises: means any premises used by any company within the Christie’s International plc’s group of companies.
property: means artworks and other collectable items left in Christie’s care.
purchased property: means property purchased in a Christie’s auction or through Christie’s by private sale.
reserve: means the confidential amount below which Christie’s will not sell a lot of property.
sale property: means property consigned with Christie’s for sale by auction or private sale.
seller’s agreement: means a Seller’s Agreement (or Seller’s Private Sale Agreement) under which property is consigned to a Christie’s company for sale.
storage facility: means any facility which Christie’s deem to be suitable for storing an item, considering its nature, size, value and availability of suitable storage facilities.
storage fees: means Christie’s fees and costs for storing property
unsold sale property: means (i) sale property consigned for sale by auction which remains unsold at auction, and (if applicable) at the end of any after-sale period; and (ii) sale property consigned for sale by private sale which remains unsold on expiry of the applicable seller’s agreement.
These Storage Conditions set out the basis on which Christie’s stores property. Any amendment to, or waiver of, these Storage Conditions is effective only if agreed between you and Christie’s in writing. For sale property, the terms of the applicable seller’s agreement shall prevail if inconsistent with these Storage Conditions.
You will find a glossary at the end of these Storage Conditions explaining the meaning of the words highlighted in bold.
1. Free Storage Period
Christie’s storage services are provided purely as a short-term convenience to Christie’s clients and are not an alternative to long-term fine art/collectible storage. Therefore, property must be collected no later than thirty (30) days following:
1.1. Purchased property (auction) - the date of the auction;
1.2. Unsold sale property (auction) – the expiry of the after-sale period (or, if there is no after-sale period, the date of the auction); and
1.3. Other property (including, but not limited to, property with Christie’s for the purposes of valuation or expertise) - the date that Christie’s received possession or control of the property.
1.4. Unsold sale property (private sale) - the expiry of the private sale seller’s agreement; and
1.5. Other property (including, but not limited to, property with Christie’s for the purposes of valuation or expertise) - the date that Christie’s took possession or control of the property.
If any property has not been collected by the end of this free storage period then storage fees may become due and payable as set out in paragraph 3 below. Paying storage fees does not override your obligation to collect the property.
2. Location and access
2.1. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, Christie’s will decide in its sole discretion where any property is to be stored.
2.2. Access to property while in storage at a storage facility will only be provided to you on an exceptional basis (to be determined in Christie’s sole discretion). If you need access to your property, please contact Post-Sale Service on +852 2760 1766 Email: PostSaleAsia@Christies.com.
3. Storage Fees
3.1. Christie’s will be entitled to charge Storage Fees upon expiry of the applicable free storage period. We will notify you to the address set out on your invoice that the storage fees will be charged. Christie’s storage fees and details of how to pay are available on Christie’s website at staging.christies.com/storagefees. All storage fees are exclusive of applicable taxes, which will be added to your invoice at the appropriate rate. Invoices for storage fees are payable in the invoiced currency on the due date set out on the invoice (the “due date”).
3.2. Christie’s may seven (7) days after the date of the auction in addition to any other rights or remedies it has by law:
(i) exercise all rights and remedies of a person holding security over your property, whether by way of pledge, security interest or otherwise as permitted by the law of the place where such property is located. You will be deemed to have granted such security to Christie’s and Christie’s may retain such property as collateral security for your obligations to Christie’s;
(ii) sell your property in any way Christie’s feel, in its sole discretion, to be reasonably appropriate and pay you the balance of the price realised after deduction of all amounts due to Christie’s;
(iii) transfer the property to a third party storage facility and you will be subject to the third party storage facility’s standard terms and directly responsible to pay the third party storage facility’s fees and costs; and
(iv) take any other action Christie’s see necessary or appropriate.
3.3. Nothing in this paragraph 3 shall act to limit any rights we may have in any seller’s agreement or conditions of sale applicable to the property.
4. Collection
4.1. You will provide Christie’s with at least 48 hours’ prior written notice of your intention to collect any property. Collection may only be made during working hours.
4.2. You may not collect any property until you have made full and clear payment of the purchase price (in the case of purchased property) and all storage fees and other amounts due to Christie’s from you.
5. Physical Loss and Damage Liability
5.1. Christie’s accepts responsibility for any physical loss or damage to the property during the applicable free storage period, subject to paragraph 5.2 below.
5.2. For unsold sale property, Christie’s liability under paragraph 5.1 above will be limited as set out in the applicable seller’s agreement. For purchased property and other property Christie’s liability under paragraph 5.1 shall be limited as follows:
(i) in the case of purchased property, Christie’s will not pay more than the hammer price or private sale purchase price (as applicable);
(ii) in the case of all other property, in the absence of an agreed (in writing) loss, damage and liability value, Christie’s will not pay more than its reasonable estimate of the auction value of the property as determined in Christie’s sole discretion;
(iii) Christie’s will not be liable for any physical loss or damage to any lot of property caused by climatic or atmospheric conditions beyond Christie’s control as long as Christie’s take reasonable care and skill in handling the property to reduce the risk of physical loss or damage; and
(iv) by certain other conditions which are available from Christie’s or on Christie’s website at staging.christies.com/liabilityterms.
5.3. Unless otherwise agreed in writing with you, Christie’s responsibility for physical loss or damage to the property shall end on the earlier of collection of the property or the expiry of the applicable free storage period. You agree that you will be liable for any physical loss or damage to the property once Christie’s responsibility has ended and:
(i) you hereby release Christie’s, its officers, employees, agents, contractors and insurers, from and against any and all liability for physical loss of or damage to the property;
(ii) you agree to pay Christie’s, any Christie's group company, Christie’s respective employees and applicable agents (a) the full amount of any claim made against Christie’s or them for physical loss of, or damage to, any property; and (b) any costs and expenses Christie’s have to pay as a result of a claim;
(iii) you agree that this paragraph 5.3 will apply no matter what caused the physical loss or damage to the property (including Christie’s negligence) and even if Christie’s pay compensation without its legal liability having first been proved; and
(iv) you agree to arrange appropriate insurance for all property including for the risk of physical loss or damage caused by negligence and will (A) notify your insurance carrier/company of this and (B) arrange for them to waive any right of subrogation against Christie’s, its officers, employees, agents, contractors and insurers with respect to any loss of or damage to the property while it remains in Christie’s or its agent’s care, custody or control.
5.4. Even if, despite the terms of paragraph 5.3 above, we are found to be liable for any physical loss of, or damage, to any property, we will not have to pay more in total than HK$580,000 or Christie’s reasonable estimate of the auction value of the property whichever is lower.
5.5. Christie’s may, at its option, agree in writing to continue to accept responsibility for physical loss or damage to the property after the end of the applicable free storage period, subject to payment of loss damage liability fees and certain other conditions. If you would like further details please contact Post-Sale Service on +852 2760 1766 Email: PostSaleAsia@Christies.com.
6. Uncollected property and right of sale
6.1. Even when you have paid all applicable storage fees, any property not collected by you within six (6) calendar months of the end of the applicable free storage period may be sold or transferred by Christie’s in accordance with paragraphs 3.2 (ii) and (iii) above.
6.2. If paragraph 6.1 applies and Christie’s consider, in its sole discretion, that the property is not suitable for sale, Christie’s may at its option:
(i) ship the property back to you at your cost to the last known address Christie’s have for you on its records. Christie’s shall have no obligation to verify that such address is correct. Such shipment shall be entirely at your own risk and Christie’s shall have no liability to you under any circumstances; or
(ii) dispose of the property as Christie’s see fit.
6.3. If you owe money to another Christie's group company Christie’s can retain your property and sell it in any way Christie’s think reasonably appropriate, deduct the monies owed from the price realised and pay such monies to the applicable Christie's group company and you the balance.
7. Dangerous property
Christie’s reserve the right to remove from its storage and/or destroy any property at any time (without any liability to you) that Christie’s deem, in its sole discretion:
7.1. to be explosive, dangerous or deleterious, or anything which may cause injury, damage or nuisance, or the possession of which is or is suspected to be illegal or connected with the proceeds of criminal activity, or which may not lawfully be deposited in the storage facility;
7.2. the condition of which renders it unacceptable for storage in accordance with these Storage Conditions or is otherwise not in acceptable condition (by normal criteria); and/or
7.3. which is harbouring moth, vermin, woodworm or any other living thing, or anything or substance which might cause damage to the storage facility, or to any person or property within it.
8. Indemnity
You shall indemnify and hold Christie’s harmless in respect of any and all third party actions, causes of actions, claims, demands, costs, liabilities, expenses and damages (including legal fees) arising out of or in connection with Christie’s storage of any property. Where property is owned by you jointly with other persons, the liability of you and such other persons shall be joint and several.
9. Acceptance of instructions
Unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing (and notwithstanding that the property may be jointly owned) we will only accept instructions from the (i) the purchaser as regards purchased property (ii) the seller as regards unsold sale property and (iii) the person who left the property in Christie’s care as regards other property.
10. Personal Representatives
These Storage Conditions shall be binding on your successors, assigns, personal representatives and all other persons lawfully acting on your behalf.
11. Notices
11.1. Any notice given by Christie’s to you under these Storage Conditions shall be deemed to be duly given 48 hours after it is posted if sent by ordinary post, or when delivered, or when it is despatched if sent by fax or email, to the owner’s (or any one of the owners where the property is jointly owned) address, as set out in the seller’s agreement or an address given in any other documentation or correspondence Christie’s have with/for you, or as otherwise notified in writing by you to Christie’s.
11.2. All communications under these Storage Conditions to Christie’s shall be signed by you and sent to the Post-Sale Service on +852 2760 1766 Email: PostSaleAsia@Christies.com or to such person and/or addressee as we may advise.
12. General
12.1. These Storage Conditions shall not create a landlord/tenant relationship between us.
12.2. Other than where expressly provided in these Storage Conditions to the contrary, nothing in these Storage Conditions is intended to confer any benefit on any third party (whether referred to herein by class description or otherwise) or any right to enforce a term contained in these Storage Conditions.
12.3. If any part of these Storage Conditions is determined by any court or other competent authority to be illegal, invalid and/or unenforceable, that part may be discounted and the rest of the Storage Conditions shall continue to be valid and enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by law.
12.4. No delay or omission by Christie’s in exercising any rights in respect of a breach by you shall prejudice Christie’s rights as to that or any future breach. A waiver by Christie’s of any breach of any provision of these Storage Conditions by you shall not (i) prejudice Christie’s rights regarding that breach or (ii) be deemed to be a waiver of a subsequent breach by you of that or any other provision of these Storage Conditions.
13. Law and Jurisdiction
These Storage Conditions and any rights arising outside of but related to these terms shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of Hong Kong. Before either Christie’s or you start any court proceedings (except where we need to start proceedings to recover outstanding payments and in the limited circumstances where the dispute, controversy or claim is related to a lawsuit brought by a third party and this dispute could be joined to that proceeding) and if we both agree, we shall each attempt to settle the dispute by mediation following the mediation procedure of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (“HKIAC”) with a mediator affiliated with HKIAC and mutually acceptable to each of us. If the dispute is not settled by mediation, you agree, for our benefit, that any dispute will be dealt with exclusively in the courts of Hong Kong. However, we will have the right to bring proceedings against you in any other court.
Glossary
after-sale period: has the meaning given to it in the applicable seller’s agreement.
Christie’s: means (i) in the case of unsold sale property, the Christie’s group company with which you have a seller’s agreement; or (ii) in the case of purchased property, the Christie’s group company through which you purchased the applicable property; or (iii) in the case of other property, the Christie’s group company in whose care you left the applicable property.
Christie’s group: means Christie’s International plc and other companies within its corporate group.
free storage period: means the applicable period specified in paragraph 1.
hammer price : the amount of the highest bid the auctioneer accepts for the sale of a lot of property.
lien: means a right under law to keep possession of property belonging to another person until a debt owed by that person is discharged.
purchase price: has the meaning given to it in the applicable conditions of sale.
premises: means any premises used by any company within the Christie’s International plc’s group of companies.
property: means artworks and other collectable items left in Christie’s care.
purchased property: means property purchased in a Christie’s auction or through Christie’s by private sale.
reserve: means the confidential amount below which Christie’s will not sell a lot of property.
sale property: means property consigned with Christie’s for sale by auction or private sale.
seller’s agreement: means a Seller’s Agreement (or Seller’s Private Sale Agreement) under which property is consigned to a Christie’s company for sale.
storage facility: means any facility which Christie’s deem to be suitable for storing an item, considering its nature, size, value and availability of suitable storage facilities.
storage fees: means Christie’s fees and costs for storing property
unsold sale property: means (i) sale property consigned for sale by auction which remains unsold at auction, and (if applicable) at the end of any after-sale period; and (ii) sale property consigned for sale by private sale which remains unsold on expiry of the applicable seller’s agreement.