Venduehuis

Venduehuis der Notarissen has been selling from Nobelstraat 5 in The Hague since its first auction in January 1812, and is still owned by the association of Hague notaries that founded it in 1811 — the oldest auction house in the Netherlands. Sales run every month, filled from Dutch private consignors, single-owner collections and public bodies, including municipal collections such as Wassenaar's, with the specialist departments concentrating their highlights in the spring and autumn sales. The same company also trades as Van Stockum's Veilingen and Vendue Next Door.

What you can buy

• Paintings and works on paper: Old Masters, nineteenth-century and early modern Dutch and European art, Post-War & Contemporary sales, and mixed Classic to Modern Art catalogues with drawings and prints.
• Asian art: Chinese porcelain, bronzes, jade and furniture in the Scholar & The Dragon and Arts of the East sales, plus Japanese netsuke and Indonesian paintings — a real specialism here, rooted in Dutch colonial collecting, with its own dedicated sale since 2017.
• Jewellery, watches and luxury: diamond and gold jewellery, wristwatches by Patek Philippe, Rolex, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Chopard, and vintage couture from Dutch and international fashion houses.
• Silver: seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Dutch and European fine silver, twentieth-century design, and Chinese export and other Asian silver.
• Sculpture, design and interiors: bronzes, twentieth-century design, antique furniture, glass and everyday household antiques.

How the bidding works

Sales run in two formats: Live Online, called by an auctioneer, where you can also bid in the room, in writing or by telephone; and Online Only, which closes without one, a late bid extending that lot by three minutes. National and international collectors, dealers and museums bid in the same rooms and catalogues. Bidding needs an account, and the standard limit is €15,000 per sale — raising it means sending ID and proof of address, and sometimes a deposit or bank guarantee paid at least 48 hours ahead. Identification is required under the Dutch anti-money-laundering act (Wwft). Live sales can also be followed on Invaluable and Drouot. Vendue Next Door is the monthly entry-level online-only sale, run from the Forepark depot at Oder 18: most lots open at €35, bidding opens about a week before, and closing is staggered at fifteen lots every three minutes. Viewing there is Tuesday to Friday, 09:30–16:00; Nobelstraat viewings run 10:00–17:00. Invoices are payable within five working days by iDEAL or bank transfer; cash is taken only at Nobelstraat 5 and by prior arrangement, never at Oder 18. Collect by appointment from whichever address held the sale, within ten working days — five after an online sale.

What to check before you bid

Buyer's premium is 30% on the hammer price up to €100,000 and 24% above, VAT included. The margin scheme applies unless stated otherwise, so no VAT is added and none appears on the invoice — business buyers have nothing to reclaim. Bidding via Invaluable adds 5% and Drouot 3%, so use the house platform. Droit de suite starts at €3,000, tapering from 4% to 0.25% and capped at €12,500. Lots are auctioned in their present condition, and the conditions put the duty of inspection on the bidder, who is told not to rely on photographs — so request a written condition report or attend the viewing. Miss the collection window and storage runs €30 a month per 2 m² unit; after six months the lot can be resold. Export licences under the Heritage Act are the buyer's responsibility. The site runs in Dutch, English and Chinese, telephone bidding is offered in five languages, and transport can be arranged.