Auctions
What is the difference between the hammer price and the final price?
The hammer price is the sum at which the bidding in the room ends. The final price is higher, because the buyer's premium — the auction house's commission — is added to it. When you read about records, the figure is usually the final price, premium included.
What is a “chandelier bid” and how do auction houses push prices up?
A chandelier bid is the tossing out of bids that do not exist: the auctioneer signals offers “into thin air”, as though someone in the room were bidding, and so drives the price up towards the opening threshold. It is a legal instrument of auction theatre — but one worth knowing about before you raise your own paddle.
Why do great collections end up at auction (the 3D rule)?
Most often because of the so-called 3D rule: death, debt, divorce. It is precisely these turning points in life that release onto the market works which would otherwise have stayed out of sight for years. The end of one collector's story tends to be the beginning of the next owner's.
Are auctions moving online?
Yes, and markedly so. Online sales rose sharply after the pandemic and, according to the LiveBit index, made up roughly 37.5 per cent of the Czech auction market in 2025. Bidding from the sofa is now the norm, not the exception.