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Antwerp school Leads Christie's $4.43m 'Old Masters Part II: Paintings, Sculpture, Drawings and Watercolours' Auction in London

3 min read  ·  04 Jul 2024

The Adoration of the Magi by Antwerp school sold for $335,700.
Image courtesy of Christie's

The Adoration of the Magi by Antwerp school sold for $335,700. Image courtesy of Christie's

A work by Antwerp school was the headline sale at Christie's 'Old Masters Part II: Paintings, Sculpture, Drawings and Watercolours' auction on July 3 in London.

  • The sale totaled $4.43m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

  • 132 works sold totaling $4.43m.
  • Estimates totaled: $3.54m (low) and $5.26m (high), excluding premiums.
  • The sell-through rate was 76% of the original 173 lots announced.

The star lot was: Antwerp school, The Adoration of the Magi (Undated), which sold for $335,700, 2500% above its $12,700 low estimate. It has not been traded before.

The outperformer sold for 2500% above its low estimate. Antwerp school, The Adoration of the Magi (Undated), sold for $335,700 ($12,700 low estimate). It has not been traded before.

Breakdown of results against auction house estimates that are disclosed

Breakdown of results against auction house estimates that are disclosed

  • 61 works, or 46%, sold above their high estimate.
  • 46 works, or 35%, sold within their low and high estimate.
  • 25 works, or 19%, sold below their low estimate.
  • 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

38 works were bought-in, including: Tommaso di Credi, called Tommaso, The Lamentation (Undated), estimated at $101,800 (low) to $152,600 (high). It has been traded 3 times in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

3 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Circle of Paolo Veneziano, The Crucifixion with the Madonna, Saint John the Evangelist and two angels (Undated) estimated at $19,100 (low) to $31,800 (high).

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. 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.