Madam, - I recently came across a receipt from a major Dublin auctioneer for two pictures I bought in June 1978.
While the cost of the pictures was by any standard modest - a Kernoff drawing for €40 - the main item of interest was the auctioneer's fee of 5 per cent.
Could someone please explain why, when the prices of antiques and art have spiralled way above inflation, the fees are now 15 per cent for the purchaser, with the vendor also contributing 10 per cent or whatever. Surely the cost of glossy catalogues cannot account for this increase. - Yours, etc,