Bonhams Chinese Paintings, Calligraphy and Prints Auction Totals $1.54m

A work by Zhang Daqian was the headline sale at Bonhams 'Chinese Paintings, Calligraphy and Prints' auction on March 24 in New York.

• The sale totaled $1.54m, falling short of its pre-sale low estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 94 works sold totaling $1.54m.
• Estimates totaled: $1.71m (low) and $2.61m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 68% of the original 139 lots announced.

The star lot was: Zhang Daqian, Red Lotus (1974), which sold for $229,100, 129% above its $100,000 low estimate. It has not been traded before.

The outperformer sold for 966% above its low estimate. Cheng Qinwang, Calligraphy in Running Script (Undated), sold for $32,000 ($3,000 low estimate).

• 33 works, or 35%, sold above their high estimate.
• 45 works, or 48%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 16 works, or 17%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

45 works were bought-in, including: Anonymous, Portrait of A Princess (Undated), estimated at $150,000 (low) to $250,000 (high). It has not been traded before.

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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. 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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.