Terms of service

Last updated: 13 August 2026

ABOUT ETHOSALIS

ETHOSALIS operates the website ethosalis.art and offers access to selected artworks, collectible ceramics, related documentation and gallery services.

For each transaction, the seller is the Hong Kong incorporated entity identified in the relevant order confirmation and invoice. References in these Terms to “ETHOSALIS”, “we”, “us” or “our” refer to that selling entity. References to “you”, “your” or “collector” refer to the person accessing the website, making an inquiry or acquiring an artwork.

You may contact us at inquiry@ethosalis.art.

ACCEPTANCE OF THESE TERMS

By accessing this website, submitting an inquiry, accepting an acquisition proposal, making payment or otherwise using our services, you agree to these Terms of Service, together with our Privacy Policy, Return and Refund Policy, Shipping Policy and any artwork-specific documentation supplied to you.

If mandatory consumer laws applicable in your country provide rights that cannot legally be excluded or restricted, those rights remain unaffected.

GALLERY AND INQUIRY-LED MODEL

ETHOSALIS operates as a curated gallery rather than a conventional mass-market online retailer. Publication of an artwork on the website does not constitute a binding offer to sell.

An acquisition becomes binding only when:

(a) availability has been confirmed by ETHOSALIS;

(b) you have received a final order confirmation, invoice or acquisition proposal;

(d) payment has been received or otherwise confirmed by us.

We may decline or cancel an inquiry before a binding acquisition is formed, including where an artwork is no longer available, information was displayed incorrectly, payment cannot be verified or legal, sanctions, fraud-prevention or shipping restrictions apply.

AVAILABILITY AND STATUS

Each artwork is generally unique or available in extremely limited quantities. Website status labels may include Available, Inquiry Welcome, On Hold, Reserved, Collected or similar descriptions.

An artwork displayed as Available may be subject to another active inquiry. Placement in a cart, submission of an inquiry or commencement of payment does not reserve an artwork unless ETHOSALIS confirms the reservation in writing.

Collected or sold works may remain visible as part of the gallery archive and are not available for acquisition unless expressly stated otherwise.

ARTWORK INFORMATION

We take reasonable care to present accurate titles, artist information, traditions, materials, dimensions, condition, provenance and supporting documentation.

Dimensions, capacity and weight may be approximate. Colours and surface characteristics may vary because of lighting, photography, screen calibration and the reflective or translucent nature of ceramic glazes.

The final order confirmation, invoice, condition report and artwork-specific written disclosures form part of the agreement. If there is any material inconsistency, the final artwork-specific documentation issued before payment will take priority over general website content.

HANDMADE AND KILN-FIRED CHARACTERISTICS

Handmade and kiln-fired ceramics naturally vary in form, colour, texture and surface. Depending on the work and firing tradition, characteristics may include glaze crazing, pinholes, glaze crawling or shrinkage, kiln marks, fire marks, ash deposits, shell marks, feldspar eruptions, stone bursts, iron spots, firing distortion, irregular rims, uneven surfaces, tool marks and variations in colour or glaze thickness.

Where visible in the photographs, condition report, technical details or other pre-acquisition disclosures, these characteristics form part of the artwork’s material identity and are not automatically defects, manufacturing faults or transit damage.

This provision does not exclude responsibility for an undisclosed structural crack, chip, restoration, instability, material misdescription or damage occurring during delivery.

CONDITION AND DOCUMENTATION

Condition descriptions are prepared with reasonable care based on inspection at the time of cataloguing. Any known material damage, restoration or structural issue identified by us will be disclosed before acquisition.

Where applicable, an artwork may be accompanied by a signed box, storage box, cloth, artist biography, certificate, exhibition documentation or other accessories. Only items expressly listed in the final invoice or condition documentation are included in the acquisition.

Collectors should retain all original packaging, boxes, certificates and supporting materials because they may form part of the artwork’s provenance and value.

FUNCTIONAL USE AND CARE

Some ceramic artworks take the form of tea bowls, sake vessels, cups, plates or other historically functional objects. Unless functional suitability is expressly confirmed in the artwork description or written documentation, an artwork is offered primarily as a collectible object.

ETHOSALIS does not make an implied representation that every historical, experimental or collectible ceramic complies with contemporary food-contact, microwave, dishwasher, oven or thermal-shock standards in every jurisdiction.

Where functional use is expressly contemplated, the collector remains responsible for appropriate handling and care. Sudden temperature changes, dishwashers, microwave ovens, abrasive cleaning, prolonged soaking and contact with staining substances may damage or alter handmade ceramics.

PRICES, CURRENCY AND PAYMENT

Unless otherwise stated, prices are quoted and charged in United States dollars.

Your payment provider or bank may apply currency-conversion charges, international transaction fees or other costs that are outside our control.

An artwork will not be dispatched until cleared payment has been received and any required identity, fraud-prevention or compliance checks have been completed.

We reserve the right to correct genuine pricing or clerical errors before a binding acquisition is formed. We will not increase an agreed price after payment without your express consent.

TAXES, DUTIES AND IMPORT CHARGES

International acquisitions may be subject to import duties, value-added tax, sales tax, customs charges, brokerage fees or other assessments in the destination country.

The applicable delivery basis and responsibility for such charges will be stated in the acquisition proposal, invoice or shipping confirmation. Unless expressly stated that an order is delivered with duties and taxes paid, the collector is responsible for destination-country import charges and customs requirements.

ETHOSALIS cannot control customs assessments or guarantee that a particular artwork will receive any preferential art, antique or cultural-property tax treatment.

SHIPPING AND DELIVERY

Delivery dates are estimates unless expressly agreed as binding in writing. Customs inspection, weather, carrier disruption, regulatory review and other circumstances outside our reasonable control may affect delivery.

Risk during the initial delivery remains allocated in accordance with applicable mandatory law and the agreed shipping arrangement. Where ETHOSALIS selects and contracts the carrier for delivery to a consumer, nothing in these Terms excludes any mandatory legal responsibility applying to that delivery.

The collector must provide a complete and accurate delivery address and ensure that an authorised person is available to accept and sign for the shipment. Additional costs arising from an incorrect address, refused delivery or repeated delivery attempts may be charged where permitted by law.

Full shipping provisions are set out in our Shipping Policy.

INSPECTION ON DELIVERY

You should inspect the external packaging before accepting delivery where reasonably possible.

Any visible impact, puncture, crushing, water exposure or other packaging damage should be noted with the carrier. You should photograph the unopened parcel, shipping label, external packaging, internal packaging and artwork before and during unpacking.

Suspected transit damage, incorrect delivery or material inconsistency should be reported promptly to inquiry@ethosalis.art with the order number, photographs and a description of the issue. Failure to report immediately does not remove any mandatory legal right, but timely evidence may be essential for a carrier or insurance claim.

Packaging and damaged components must not be discarded until we confirm that they are no longer required.

CANCELLATION, WITHDRAWAL AND RETURNS

Cancellations, statutory withdrawal rights, authorised returns, return costs, damaged or misdescribed works and refunds are governed by our Return and Refund Policy.

Where a statutory right of withdrawal applies, nothing in these Terms removes or restricts that right.

All international returns require prior written authorisation. The applicable return address, approved carrier, customs instructions and return authorisation number will be supplied for the individual transaction. Collectors should not send an artwork to a website, office or dispatch address without written return instructions.

PERMITTED INSPECTION, USE AND DIMINISHED VALUE

During any applicable statutory withdrawal period, an artwork may be carefully unpacked, handled and visually inspected only to the extent reasonably necessary to establish its nature and characteristics, and only in a manner comparable to the inspection normally permitted in a physical gallery.

Unless expressly authorised by ETHOSALIS in writing, the artwork must not be used for food or beverages, filled with liquid, drunk from, served from, rinsed, washed, soaked, seasoned, cleaned, polished, altered, repaired or otherwise handled in a manner that may leave traces, change its surface or condition, or affect its provenance and future presentation.

Because each artwork is unique, the use of a vessel for drinking or serving may make it impossible for ETHOSALIS to represent or resell the artwork as unused or in its original collector-grade condition. Such use or handling is ordinarily beyond what is reasonably necessary for inspection.

Use or handling beyond necessary inspection does not automatically remove any mandatory statutory right of withdrawal. However, where permitted by applicable law, the collector will be responsible for any objectively demonstrated diminution in value resulting from such use or handling.

Diminished value may include reasonable inspection, conservation, specialist assessment or cleaning costs; physical alteration, staining, odour, residue, scratching, surface change or other condition changes; loss of or damage to the original box, signed box, documentation, wrapping or accessories; and the documented reduction between the value of the artwork in the condition supplied and its value in the condition returned. This may include loss resulting from the artwork no longer being capable of being truthfully presented or sold as unused or in its original collector-grade condition.

Any assessment of diminished value will be made individually and supported by reasonable evidence, which may include pre-dispatch condition records, photographs, video, return inspection findings, specialist opinion and relevant market evidence. Any deduction will reflect the objectively demonstrated loss and will not operate as a penalty, fixed restocking charge or automatic refusal of the return.

Nothing in this section excludes or limits any mandatory statutory right or remedy relating to an artwork that was damaged in transit, defective, materially misdescribed, or not in the condition disclosed before acquisition.

AUTHENTICITY, ATTRIBUTION AND PROVENANCE

Statements concerning authorship, attribution, date, provenance, exhibition history and cultural context are made in good faith on the basis of available information, documentation and reasonable professional judgement at the time of cataloguing.

Any specific guarantee or qualification concerning authenticity, attribution or provenance will be stated in the final artwork documentation. General educational, editorial or curatorial commentary should not be interpreted as an independent financial appraisal or guarantee of future market value.

NO INVESTMENT GUARANTEE

Artworks are acquired for their artistic, cultural, material and personal significance. ETHOSALIS does not guarantee future appreciation, liquidity, resale value, auction performance or investment return.

Curatorial opinions and collector perspectives published by ETHOSALIS are informed opinions rather than financial, tax, legal or investment advice.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

All website content, including text, photography, video, design, graphics, logos, cataloguing, curatorial writing and compilation, is owned by or licensed to ETHOSALIS and is protected by applicable intellectual-property laws.

You may view and retain website content for personal, non-commercial reference. You may not reproduce, distribute, scrape, republish, modify, commercially exploit or use it to train an automated or artificial-intelligence system without prior written permission.

Acquisition of an artwork does not transfer copyright, reproduction rights, moral rights or other intellectual-property rights in the artwork unless expressly agreed in writing.

ACCEPTABLE USE

You must not use the website to engage in unlawful activity, interfere with security, introduce malicious code, impersonate another person, submit false payment or identity information, harvest data or attempt unauthorised access to the website or related systems.

We may restrict access, cancel an inquiry or suspend service where reasonably necessary to protect collectors, artists, ETHOSALIS or the integrity of the website.

THIRD-PARTY SERVICES

The website may rely on or link to third-party services, including Shopify, payment processors, analytics providers, shipping carriers and external websites.

Their services may be governed by separate terms and privacy policies. ETHOSALIS is not responsible for third-party content or conduct outside our reasonable control, but this does not exclude responsibility that cannot lawfully be excluded.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, ETHOSALIS will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special or consequential losses that were not reasonably foreseeable when the agreement was made.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability where exclusion or limitation would be unlawful, including liability for fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation, wilful misconduct, death or personal injury caused by negligence, or mandatory consumer rights.

Where liability may lawfully be limited, our aggregate liability arising from a particular acquisition will not exceed the amount paid for that acquisition, except where applicable law requires otherwise.

EVENTS OUTSIDE REASONABLE CONTROL

ETHOSALIS will not be responsible for delay or failure caused by circumstances outside our reasonable control, including natural disasters, war, civil disturbance, epidemic, governmental action, customs delay, carrier disruption, labour dispute, cyberattack or failure of essential infrastructure.

We will take reasonable steps to minimise the effect of such circumstances and communicate material delays.

CHANGES TO THE WEBSITE AND THESE TERMS

We may update the website and these Terms to reflect changes in our services, operating practices or legal requirements.

The Terms applying to an acquisition are those made available when the binding acquisition was formed, together with the artwork-specific documentation issued for that acquisition. Later changes will not retrospectively remove agreed or mandatory rights.

SEVERABILITY

If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in effect. The invalid provision will be interpreted or adjusted only to the minimum extent necessary to make it lawful and enforceable.

GOVERNING LAW AND MANDATORY CONSUMER RIGHTS

These Terms and transactions with ETHOSALIS are governed by the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, unless mandatory law requires otherwise.

The courts of Hong Kong will have jurisdiction, subject to any mandatory right a consumer may have to bring or defend proceedings in another competent jurisdiction.

If you are a consumer in the European Union, European Economic Area, United Kingdom or another jurisdiction providing mandatory consumer protection, this governing-law provision does not deprive you of protections that cannot legally be excluded by agreement.

CONTACT

Questions concerning these Terms, an artwork or an acquisition may be sent to:

ETHOSALIS
Email: inquiry@ethosalis.art
Website: https://ethosalis.art