Robert brooks has firm views about his trade. "The minute an auction house moves away from simply being an intermediary between buyers and sellers and takes on the role of financier," he says, "it starts to change its core character as well as the relationship between the seller, his agent and the buyer." Mr Brooks is the chairman of Bonhams, a British auctioneer of art, jewellery, cars, musical instruments and furniture. He says his firm is an agent only. In particular, it does not offer sellers guaranteed sums, regardless of the price their items fetch in the auction room.
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