Mallet Auction always looks forward to receiving items on consignment: please feel free to contact us at any time. Any information that you provide will be treated in strictest confidence.

1. Consultation and Valuation

If you have an artwork that you are considering selling on consignment, please send us details of it* by mail, fax, or e-mail complete with a photograph or image. Upon verifying the nature and condition of the piece, we will consult with you about its provisional valuation and consignment terms. Valuations are free, so please do not hesitate to inquire.

*Just as much as you know about the piece: artist, title, medium, dimensions, year executed, raisonne number, edition, signature or seal, inscription on accompanying box case, seal of authenticity, whether or not it is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity, condition, etc.

2. Inspection of Your Piece
After notifying you of the provisional valuation, we will ask you to leave the piece with us for inspection. The cost of shipping and packaging is borne by you. Depending on the nature of the piece, and how many pieces you have in total, we may need to consult with you specifically about method of shipping. After inspecting the piece directly, we will present you with a current estimate of its auction value based on our own valuation.

If an appraisal is required, we will execute the necessary procedures on your behalf. You will be charged for the appraisal at cost. The piece cannot be consigned if it fails to be authenticated by an authentication committee, any designated registration committee of a professional arts association, any designated appraiser, or any professional art researcher. Please note that even in that case, it will still be your responsibility to pay the appraisal costs.

3. Sales Consignment Agreement
Upon agreeing to the final estimate, the reserve, and the rest of the consignment terms, you may decide to consign your piece, at which point a sales consignment agreement will be concluded with you. Please note that the agreement cannot be canceled once signed. The piece will, until auctioned off and delivered to the purchaser, be carefully kept in our safekeeping at a place of storage designated by us and under insurance coverage. The cost of that insurance is borne by you.

4. Production of the Catalogue, and Catalogue Illustration Fees
Each time an auction is to be held, a catalogue is produced containing information on and photographs of all the consigned properties; this is sent out to subscribers both in Japan and abroad some twenty days before the auction. You will be charged an illustration fee of between 5,250 yen and a maximum of 31,500 yen per piece. The illustration fee for each piece, the size of the photograph, and the page layout are all determined by our staff.

5. Promotional Activities
Every effort is made to advertise the pieces up for auction in advance to art collectors and individuals who are unable to attend the auction or visit the pre-auction viewing. Press releases are issued to art magazines and other media, for example, and ads placed with them.

6. Pre-Auction Viewing
Before each auction, a pre-auction viewing is held where all properties are put on display for our clients to view directly. Our specialists are on hand to explain and promote the pieces.

7. The Auction
Properties are auctioned one at a time in the order in which they appear in the catalogue, being knocked down to the highest bidder. You will be notified in writing of the results after the auction.

8. Payment
As long as receipt of payment from the successful bidder has been confirmed, payment will be sent to your account by bank remittance twenty days after the auction, after subtracting the commission fee and consumption tax thereon, the catalogue illustration fee, the cost of insurance, and any other expenses incurred on your behalf (restoration costs, appraisal fees, shipping, etc.). Please note however that in case of a delay in receipt of payment from the successful bidder, only once receipt of payment is confirmed will you be paid.

9. Return of Unsold Pieces
Unless otherwise instructed in advance, we will send unsold pieces back to your registered address within twenty days of the auction via a shipping company designated by us. All associated shipping, packaging, and insurance costs will be borne by you. If you are going to pick up the piece in person, please advise us in advance. If you wish to consign the piece again or put it up for post-auction or private sales, please consult with us.

10. If an Auctioned Piece Turns Out to Be a Forgery
If, within five years of the date of the auction, a consigned piece is determined to be a forgery, the sales consignment agreement between you and Mallet Japan will be terminated. If we have not yet remitted payment to you, we will simply return the piece in question. If we have completed payment to you, you will be asked to refund that amount in full, after which we will return the piece in question.

This is an arrangement whereby you receive payment, based on the estimate, in advance of the auction date. The amount paid and other terms are decided after separate discussion; please consult with us for details.
Besides auctioning pieces on consignment, we also handle private sales. Under this arrangement you provide us with information on the piece or leave the piece itself with us, and we broker its sale without putting it up for auction. Please consult with us about this option if you have a piece that you do not wish to consign to auction.