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Art & Art History vocabulary · Collecting & the Art Market

Lot

Meaning in art & art history, with examples

/lɑːt/nounCommon term

In art & art history, lot means: One item, or a group of items sold together, offered at an auction and given a number in the catalogue.

In Turkish: lot, müzayede kalemi, parti

How it is used

Auctioneers announce ‘Lot 25, a portrait by…’, and bidders follow the lot numbers in the catalogue. A lot can be sold, unsold (bought in) or withdrawn before the sale. Each lot has an estimate and often a secret reserve price.

Example sentences

  1. Lot 47, a small Ottoman miniature, sold for three times its estimate.

  2. The most expensive lot of the evening was withdrawn an hour before the sale.

Common collocations

  • lot number
  • top lot
  • unsold lot
  • withdraw a lot
  • bid on a lot
  • auctionA public sale in which artworks or other objects are sold to the person who offers the most money.
  • provenanceThe documented history of who has owned an artwork since it was made, used to show that it is genuine and was acquired legally.
  • collectorA person or institution that buys and keeps artworks or other objects, often over many years and around a particular theme.
  • art dealerA person or company that buys and sells artworks as a business, often running a gallery and representing particular artists.

More terms: Collecting & the Art Market

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