2023-06-10 11:59:58
Several specialized houses in Switzerland organize sales sessions during these times. The magazine 15 Minutes went to a room in Lausanne. Few buyers were there. Most were located remotely, in all corners of the world, on online platforms.
“Once, twice, sold!” Hammer in hand, the auctioneer Marc Dogny animated this Tuesday the summer sale of the house DognyAuction. In front of him, mostly empty chairs. About ten people made the trip. Danielle Cadelli, co-head of the company, confirms the trend: “Almost all buyers are online on platforms or on the phone”.
She herself was part of the team that day relaying the offers made remotely in the room. The dynamic is different. The role of the auctioneer has evolved: “We are no longer the actor we were before, but we adapt”, explains Marc Dogny. “On some platforms, even the voice does not pass”.
He observes that “the Covid has emptied the rooms and it is very difficult to bring people back”. The houses have followed this evolution and offer detailed photos and reports on the objects for sale: “Buyers have realized that it works too. Is there therefore an interest for them to return to the room?” asks Marc Dogny.
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Touch the object
But this trend does not prevent some purists from coming to see the lots. A few days before the sale, they are exhibited. Alain made the trip: “I need to touch the objects, to look at them transparently”, explains this passionate collector.
In the auction room, Danielle, a buyer, won the auction for a planter that interested her. Purchase price, 1800 francs: “I’m happy, it’s a fairly rare object”. This regular likes to be present for auctions: “I’ve been coming for years. There’s a certain atmosphere. I actually enjoy myself”.
“There is even a client who traveled from Sweden for this sale,” notes Marc Dogny. “An endangered species,” he smiles. The auctioneer seems philosophical about this trend towards online shopping: “These are new habits and we have to work with them. Digitization makes it possible to reach people who are much further away, but also to better respond to new generations”.
successful sale
For this sale, 240 lots were offered: paintings, vases, violins or even bottles of wine, at very variable prices. And they sold well, according to the auctioneer. The most expensive painting went for 200,000 francs.
Digitization “allows you to shine a little more widely”, notes Anastasia Hirt, collaborator of the house. She mentions the example of an Australian client who came to inquire about a painting by a Swiss artist.
“Now, we can no longer do without the platforms”, notes this specialist in the decorative arts of the 20th century. In his eyes, “an art that is exported is an art that also lives”.
Katia Bitsch, William King
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