Auction organized by the Hong Kong office of the auction house, will combine the anonymity of the "silent auction" and the voltage of traditional trades

the Auction, called In Confidence: Selected Masterpieces ("secret: Selected masterpieces") will be held on the website of the auction house from 15 to 23 may 2020. Part of the auction catalog includes 13 lots of different categories (from contemporary and traditional Asian art to rare whiskeys) at a total cost of about HKD 350 million (approx. us $45 million). To start bidding on the lots will range from 5 million to 70 million HKD.

Rare recent addition to the modalities of the auction will have the opportunity of personal acquaintance with the lots at the pre-auction viewing in the gallery at Sotheby's in Hong Kong. A visit to the gallery is available by appointment.

the format of the auction — is a kind of experiment Sotheby's, which combines elements of traditional online-торгов and "silent auction". This means that anyone wishing to participate in the raffle, should make him an absentee bid. If the bid of the participant of auction will be killed absentee rate competitor, he will get some time to do the following absentee bid. Thus, bidders are not required to monitor their progress in real time —, it is enough to check the notifications from the auction house. All bets will be confidential with equity trading will be watching an independent mediator.

the Main job of an observer will ensure that the bidder has not paid more than the rules. In other words, if the bidder will make an absentee bid, but last bid of a competitor, exceeding the reserve price the seller will fall short of this amount, more than one step, — item will be awarded to the winner at the price of the next step, before reaching absentee bids.

This mode will operate weekly — from 15 to 22 may. 24 hours before the appointed time of the end of the auction (23 may) notifications to come will cease and the auction will go to the final phase, when the winning will be considered at the time the highest bid on a normal auction. Thus, holding these trades can be divided into three phases: 15 may — opening for viewing and betting of the auction catalogue, may 15-23 — period, when absentee bids are accepted (may 15-22 participants receive the notification that their bid killed) and 23 may — summing up the auction.

With the description of the auction lots can be found here.

the Material was prepared by Maria Kuznetsova, AI

Source: sothebys.com