Austrian auction house sues Long Island auctioneer over $375 Buddhist sculpture sale
Galerie Zacke is seeking the release of the sculpture or damages of more than $30,000, its alleged market value.
Law and Crime
An Austrian auction house has sued a Long Island auctioneer after a Tibetan Buddhist sculpture it won for $375 was later withheld due to an alleged clerical error, even though the buyer had already paid for the piece.
Susanne Zacke, who operates the Vienna-based auction house Galerie Zacke, filed the lawsuit February 18 in New York Supreme Court in Nassau County against Roland Antiques Gallery, which does business as Roland Auctions.
Urgent Matter has reached out to both auction houses for more information and additional comment.
The dispute centers on a 19th-century sculpture described in the auction catalog as a “Tibetan Buddhist Gilt Bronze of Dorje Legpa,” listed as Lot 549 during a November 15, 2025, estate sale held at Roland’s Glen Cove auction house.
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Documents: Galerie Zacke Sues Roland Auctions Over $375 Sale
Court records from the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Nassau County.
Adam Schrader
The listing for the item at LiveAuctioneers described the condition of the sculpture as “good with some losses to gilt decoration and patina.”
A representative of Galerie Zacke participated in the sale as an online bidder in competition with a floor bidder. When the auctioneer’s hammer fell, the sculpture was allegedly knocked down to Galerie Zacke with a successful bid of $375.
Galerie Zacke argued that created a binding contract under New York law, and argued in two causes of action that Roland Auctions breached that contract.
The Austrian firm said it later received and paid an invoice totaling $487.50, which included the hammer price and related fees.
But after the payment was made, Roland Auctions allegedly notified the buyer that the sculpture had not actually been sold to Galerie Zacke and had instead been awarded to another bidder because of a “clerk error,” according to the lawsuit. The LiveAuctioneers listing notes the $375 bid as the final bid.
Galerie Zacke said it requested that the auction house turn over the sculpture as required under the sale contract, but that Roland refused.
The Austrian firm claimed in the lawsuit that the sculpture’s true value is at least $30,000—far above the $375 winning bid recorded at the auction—and is seeking damages reflecting that valuation.
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