Yes, you, too, can bid at auctions
By Camille Abello
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:20:00 05/12/2008
MANILA, Philippines - On the Southeast Asian art market today, the buzz seems to be the "auction."
It is interesting to note that Filipino artists are doing quite well in the Asian circuit, not quite as well as their Chinese or Indonesian counterparts, but if the recent results of major auction houses are any indication, they're pretty well on their way.
Sotheby's Spring Auction held in Hong Kong last month with 18 Filipino paintings generated a total sale of HK$6.9 or P36.8 million. What was most interesting was that young contemporary artists such as Nona Garcia, Annie Cabigting, Ronald Ventura, and Rodel Tapaya found themselves in the same seven-figure league (in Philippine peso equivalent) as the masters such as Felix Martinez, Anita Magsaysay-Ho, Vicente Manansala and Fernando Amorsolo.
Earlier, two younger auction houses had auctions in Singapore. Masterpiece bid out 11 Filipino paintings and raised P2,067,000.
Larasati had its auction in April with 23 Filipino paintings generating sales of P3.6 million, with Lydia Velasco leading the charge with her 36" x 48" painting, "Spring," selling for S$26,400, or P818,400.
This weekend, 51 paintings from Filipino artists will go on the auction block, perhaps the largest collection of Filipino paintings to go on sale in a Southeast Asian bidding. The auction will be staged by Borobudur on May 17 at the Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Center (1 Raffles Blvd., Suntec City, Singapore).
Actual presence
The forthcoming auction interestingly combines works by masters such as Federico Aguilar Alcuaz, HR Ocampo, Arturo Luz and Sanso, along with works by young contemporary artists such as Geraldine Javier, Winner Jumalon, Eufemio Rasco IV, Dominic Rubio.
Although auction seems the current craze, to many the auction market is still an enigmatic ritual or an esoteric exercise. It doesn't really have to be that way, particularly if interested parties realize that even from Manila they can participate in the bidding process.
Bidding may be done in many ways. The first is by being physically present at the auction.
Singapore is quite easy to fly to. There are about 10 flights a day from different carriers (PAL, Singapore Airlines, Tiger Airways, Jetstar, Cebu Pacific). Many of them offer promo rates or package tours. In a little over three hours, the art enthusiast can easily find himself in Singapore for auctions.
In attending an auction, one needs first to register. After filling up the registration form, the interested bidder will be given a paddle or a number. One needs to raise this registered number at the price one is willing to commit to a certain piece on the auction block.
The artworks are usually identified by a lot number. For actual reference, one can avail oneself of the auction catalogue.
Together with the lot number is an image of the artwork, the dimensions, title and medium used by the artist and other relevant information. Sometimes pertinent literature, where an artwork is described as well as a background on the artist, is included in the catalogue.
Absentee bidder
The active businessman or itinerant traveler-cum-avid collector need not be present on auction floor to participate.
One can be an absentee bidder. This can be done either by filling up a form for a written bid or for a telephone bid.
If one cannot obtain the catalogue, one may visit the auction house's website. For the forthcoming Borobudur auction, it is www.borobudurauctions.com. Or one can make inquiries with Borobudur at 0922-2262775 or (02) 7239418.
The forms are usually at the end pages of the catalogue. A written bid form is also known as a faxed or mailed bid.
In the form, the interested bidder must fill up pertinent information about himself, such as name, address, contact numbers, bank reference, contact person in the bank.
In the form, the bidder will put the lot number, the description of the article he is interested in, and his maximum bid.
The auction house must receive the written bid as early as possible because, should there be similar bids or bids in an equivalent amount, the bid is awarded to the person who submitted the earlier bid.
The auction house will usually acknowledge receipt of a written bid directly with the interested bidder or through his representative.
Phone bid
Another form of absentee bidding is through telephone.
The form is very similar to the written bids form except that the heading says Telephone Bids Form.
One need not put one's maximum bid for an artwork in this form. Just the lot number and description are enough.
What this bid form does is it alerts the auction house to call the absentee bidder once the artwork he is interested in is nearly on the auction block.
This way the absentee bidder can actively participate in the actual proceedings by telephone though he is not on the auction floor.
Auction process
Bidding usually starts with the auction master coaxing all possible bidders to meet the minimum or reserved price requirement, which is generally set by the artwork's owner.
If the bid price falls below the reserved figure, the owner will refuse to sell his piece and the auctioneer will say "Pass" or "Unsold."
Once there is a bid placed in the hall that meets the reserved price, the bidding frenzy ensues.
It is amazing to see how the auction is held and where the bids come from. If there is a "hot" item on the auction floor, the bidding becomes feverish.
Usually the auctioneer will announce if he has written bids, which he refers to as "with me."
Active bidders usually raise their numbers or paddles when they like the ongoing price of an artwork.
Telephone bids sometimes top the active bidders in the audience. Sometimes written bids top both active bidders and telephone bidders. It is excitement at its fullest particularly if there are many people interested in the artwork.
Gentleman's word
The art auction market is a gentlemen's world. Once the winning bidder is informed of his success, he will have to make arrangements to pay in the local currency of the auction.
If the auction is in Singapore, then it will have to be in Singapore dollars. If in Hong Kong, it will have to be in Hong Kong dollars.
It is a world where honor and commitment are at a high premium.
Winning bidders, are of course, expected to pay promptly, and once payments are cleared, the new owner can pick up the artwork or give instructions to have it airlifted to his indicated address.
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