Mona Lisa Copy Leads Bonhams $996,600 'Old Master Paintings' Auction
3 min read · 04 Oct 2024
Mona Lisa by After Leonardo da Vinci sold for $135,200. Image courtesy of Bonhams
A copy of the Mona Lisa based on Leonardo da Vinci's original in the Louvre was the headline sale at Bonhams 'Old Master Paintings' auction on October 2.
- The sale totaled $996,600 (£752,100), meeting the pre-sale estimate.
Snapshot of the sale
- 131 works sold totaling $996,600.
- Estimates totaled: $719,600 (low) and $1.09m (high), excluding premiums.
- The sell-through rate was 59% of the original 223 lots announced.
The star lot was: After Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa (Undated), which sold for $135,200, 1165% above its $10,700 low estimate. It has been traded twice in the past.
The outperformer sold for 1509% above its low estimate. Attributed to Robert Home, Portrait of a young man, possibly a member of the Home family, in uniform, holding a brush with his pans of watercolour and a folio before him (Undated), sold for $64,400 ($4,004 low estimate). It has not been traded before.
Breakdown of results against auction house estimates that are disclosed
- 58 works, or 44%, sold above their high estimate.
- 54 works, or 41%, sold within their low and high estimate.
- 19 works, or 15%, sold below their low estimate.
- 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.
Guaranteed sales
No sales had a guarantee.
Works that did not sell
90 works were bought-in, including: Isaak Luttichuys, Portrait of a gentleman, three-quarter-length, in black costume, holding his gloves (1658), estimated at $16,000 (low) to $24,000 (high). It has been traded once in the past.
Withdrawn before the sale
0 works were withdrawn
Terms and definitions
All results include the fees and premiums added to the price of a work of art when the auctioneer's hammer falls. Estimates, sale prices and totals are converted into US dollars. Sale prices are compared to the auction house’s low estimate, which do not include premiums.
Guarantees: Sometimes an auction house guarantees to pay a seller for a work, regardless of whether the bidding reaches the reserve price, a figure that is typically confidential.
Bought-in: If there are no bids for a work, or if bidding falls short of the reserve price, the lot is unsold or “bought-in”.
Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.
Premiums: Typically a sliding-scale of charges paid in addition to the hammer price by the buyer, plus any other fees.
