# Condition Reports and What They Leave Out > Both major houses state in their own conditions that a report is opinion, not fact, and that its silences imply nothing. The conservation literature explains why that matters. > The Study - 2026-08-02 > Canonical HTML: https://iconotheca.com/study/condition-reports-and-what-they-hide/ ## Key points - Sotheby's states that condition information is a matter of opinion only and not a representation of fact, and that all lots are sold AS IS. - Christie's states that its reports may not refer to all faults because its staff are not professional restorers or conservators. - One cradled National Gallery altarpiece was thinned from 4 to 5 centimetres down to 5 millimetres, and the museum calls it the most damaging intervention the panel has undergone. - Appraisers valued the damage to Picasso's Le Marin at 20 per cent of a USD 100 million painting, and the insurer settled at USD 18.74 million. ## The houses have already told you what a report is worth ## Lining is routine, and it is irreversible ## Cradling was standard practice and it caused the damage it prevented ## The crack vocabulary is precise, and catalogues use it loosely ## Ultraviolet shows a great deal, and conceals more than is assumed ## What condition costs, and where it fuses with attribution The condition report is written in the most careful language in a catalogue, which is exactly why it repays the closest reading. Both major houses have stated in their own conditions that it is opinion rather than fact, that it may omit faults, and that its silences imply nothing at all. The conservation literature fills in what a single word conceals: lined means impasto permanently flattened, cradled can mean nine tenths of the panel planed away. What the report does not say is the point, and the houses have said so first. ## Questions **Is a condition report binding on the auction house?** No. Sotheby's states that condition information is a matter of opinion only and not a representation of fact and that lots are sold AS IS. Christie's states that reports are provided free of charge as a convenience, are for guidance only, and may not refer to all faults because its staff are not conservators. **Should I commission an independent condition report?** At any significant level, yes. An independent conservator works for the buyer, has no interest in the sale, and can sample or examine in ways a house viewing does not allow. The houses' own disclaimers are effectively an instruction to take separate professional advice. **Does relining reduce value?** It is common and often structurally necessary, and it is irreversible in its effects. Tate's conservation research states that an old lining can be removed but flattened impasto and emphasised canvas weave are unlikely to be repairable, so unlined pictures in good state command a premium. **Can ultraviolet examination be trusted on its own?** No. Retouching under a later varnish can carry a fluorescent haze and read as original, many synthetic resins do not fluoresce, dirt suppresses the effect, and an absence of fluorescence does not prove an absence of varnish. Conservation guidance warns specifically against relying on it for questions of authenticity. ## Sources - [1] Sotheby's, Conditions of Business for Buyers, New York, effective 17 February 2025, clauses 3(a), 3(c) and 3(k). - [2] Sotheby's, 'Guide for Buyers: Global', section h, Condition of Lots. - [3] Christie's, Conditions of Sale, Hong Kong, 8 February 2022, sections A1(b), A3(a) and A3(b). - [4] Getty Conservation Institute, Conserving Canvas, ed. Schwarz, McClure and Coddington, 2023, glossary entries for lining, relining, moating, crackle, cupping, flaking and cleavage. - [5] Stephen Hackney, 'Paintings on Canvas: Lining and Alternatives', Tate Papers no. 2, Autumn 2004. - [6] National Gallery, London, 'Complex conservation: an altarpiece in need of attention', on the cradling and thinning of the Giovanni Martini da Udine altarpiece. - [7] Fodor, Cornelis, Yin, Dooms and Daubechies, 'Cradle Removal in X-Ray Images of Panel Paintings', Image Processing On Line 7 (2017), pp. 23-42. - [8] Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute, 'Painting Conservation Glossary of Terms'. - [9] National Gallery, London, glossary entry 'Ultraviolet fluorescence'. - [10] National Park Service, Conserve O Gram 1/10, 'The Use of Ultraviolet Induced Visible-Fluorescence in the Examination of Museum Objects, Part II', December 2000. - [11] National Park Service, Conserve O Gram 1/9, Part I, December 2000, warning against conclusions drawn from fluorescence alone. - [12] Thwaytes v Sotheby's [2015] EWHC 36 (Ch), Mrs Justice Rose, 16 January 2015, paragraphs 17 and 35 on ultraviolet examination in practice. - [13] Ellen J. Epstein, 'How to quantify loss of value when art is damaged', RICS Property Journal, 12 July 2024. - [14] Dianne Dwyer Modestini, 'Condition and Restoration', Salvator Mundi Revisited. - [15] Alison Cole, 'What the Louvre's scientific examinations of the Salvator Mundi really revealed', The Art Newspaper, 13 April 2021, quoting Vincent Delieuvin.