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From ; Rehl Galleries. Ins

Follow-ups from Recent Newsletters

Last month I wondered how long it would be before Sotheby's would match Christie's and raise its buyer's premium to 25% on the first $20,000 . well not that long. It happened on September 1. The real questions now being raised are that if the auction room is acting on behalf of the seller, doesn't it have a conflict of interest with the buyer and what is the buyer paying a premium for? I will leave the answers to you.

It was initially reported that an "investment group" purchased Damien Hirst's platinum and diamond encrusted skull for £50 million ($100 million). In a follow-up report it was noted that Mr. Hirst was a member of the investment group . so can we really say that the piece sold for $100 million when Mr. Hirst is a partner and will be putting up some of the money? The games they play in the Contemporary market. In case you were wondering, the piece was cast from an 18 th century skull and the teeth are the only real part.

And . it appears that the Beer sale on eBay was never consummated. It has been reported, in some of the trade newspapers, that the buyer stated that his bid was a ".joke bid" . some joke. But at least I feel there is still some level of sanity in the world, or is there . the same paper reported that the seller has had other six-figure offers! Come on ... let's just close the book on this one.