A curated list of art market terminology commonly used in auctions, private sales, and collecting.
Absentee Bid
A bid submitted in advance of the auction by a bidder who cannot attend in person.
Appraisal
An official valuation of an artwork for insurance, sale, or tax planning purposes.
Artist’s Resale Right (ARR)
A royalty that artists receive when their artworks are resold, applicable in certain jurisdictions.
Asking Price
The price set by the seller or agent before any negotiation.
Authentication
The process of verifying that an artwork is genuine, often conducted by experts, artists, or foundations.
Bid
An offer made during an auction to purchase an item at a specific price.
Buyer’s Premium
An additional fee paid by the buyer on top of the hammer price, usually expressed as a percentage.
Catalogue Raisonné
A comprehensive, annotated listing of all known artworks by an artist.
Certificate of Authenticity (COA)
A document that certifies the authenticity of a specific artwork.
Closed Bid / Sealed Bid
A method of sale where prospective buyers submit confidential offers, unseen by others.
Commission
The fee charged by an intermediary (e.g., Art Exchanger) for facilitating a sale.
Condition Report
A detailed description of an artwork’s physical state, often issued before a sale.
Confidential Sale
A transaction in which the terms, price, and sometimes even the identity of the buyer/seller are not disclosed.
Consignment
An arrangement where a seller entrusts an artwork to a gallery or auction house to sell on their behalf.
Consignor
The individual or entity who places an item for sale, typically via an auction house or dealer.
Contemporary Art
Generally refers to art produced from the second half of the 20th century to the present.
Dealer
A professional who buys and sells artworks, often representing artists or collectors.
Direct Sale
A straightforward transaction between buyer and seller, without bidding.
Due Diligence
The process of verifying the artwork’s authenticity, provenance, condition, and legal status before a sale.
Edition
A set of identical prints or multiples produced under the supervision of the artist.
Estimate
A price range provided by the seller or intermediary as a guide to the likely sale price.
Evaluation
The process of assessing the quality, significance, or value of an artwork, typically conducted by experts for purposes such as insurance, sale, donation, or estate planning.
Fair Market Value
The price that an artwork would sell for on the open market between a willing buyer and seller.
Final Price / Final Agreed Price
The price both buyer and seller agree upon in a private sale.
Fractional Ownership
A model where multiple investors own partial rights to a single artwork.
Guarantee
A minimum price promised to a consignor by an auction house, regardless of the auction outcome.
Hammer Price
The final bid at auction, before the addition of buyer’s premium or taxes.
Import/Export License
A legal document required for the international transport of certain artworks.
Inquire / Inquiry Form
A standard feature on Private Sale platforms where potential buyers express interest before seeing price or full details.
Investment-grade Art
Artworks considered to have long-term financial value due to artist reputation, rarity, and market trends.
Liquidity
The ease with which an artwork can be sold in the market without affecting its price significantly.
Loan
Temporary placement of an artwork in a museum or institution, often used to increase its provenance and visibility.
Lot
An individual item or group of items offered for sale in an auction.
Market Value
The current price an artwork is likely to achieve in the open market, based on demand and comparables.
Multiple
A work produced in more than one copy (e.g., prints, sculptures, NFTs), usually signed and numbered.
No Reserve
A lot offered for sale without a minimum price.
Off-Market Deal
A transaction conducted privately without being listed or advertised publicly.
Paddle Number / Bidder ID
The number assigned to a bidder at an auction to identify their bids.
Post-Sale Services
Services provided after a sale, such as shipping, framing, insurance, and legal documentation.
Price Realised
The final sale price of an artwork, including premium (if disclosed).
Price on Request (POR)
A term indicating that the price of a work is not publicly listed and is available only upon inquiry.
Primary Market
The initial sale of an artwork, typically sold by the artist or their representative gallery.
Private Sale
A transaction brokered outside of the public auction setting, often confidential.
Provenance
The ownership history of an artwork, used to establish authenticity and value.
Red Chip Art
Works by young or emerging artists whose prices are rising quickly, often driven by hype or speculation (term derived from blue-chip stock lingo).
Reputation Risk
The potential damage to a collector’s or platform’s credibility from dealing in fakes, disputed works, or unethical sales.
Reserve Price
The confidential minimum price a consignor is willing to accept for a lot at auction.
Secondary Market
The resale of artworks, often through dealers or auction houses, after the initial sale.
Seller’s Commission
The fee charged to the consignor by the auction house or gallery for selling their work.
Single Owner Sale
An auction consisting entirely of works from one collection or estate.
Specialist
An expert in a specific art category who advises clients and evaluates artworks.
Starting Bid
The initial price at which bidding begins in an auction.
Third-Party Guarantee
In auctions, an agreement where a third party guarantees a minimum price for a lot — sometimes relevant in high-value private deals too.
Unsigned
A work of art not bearing the artist’s signature; may or may not affect value depending on context.
Withdrawn Lot
An artwork that was scheduled to be sold but removed from the sale prior to auction.
