Vu Cao Dam Leads Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr $308,900 'La Modernité Vietnamienne' Auction

A work by Vu Cao Dam was the headline sale at Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr 'La Modernité Vietnamienne Online' auction on December 11.

• The sale totaled $308,900 (EUR294,500), falling short of its pre-sale low estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 25 works sold totaling $308,900.
• Estimates totaled: $364,500 (low) and $497,900 (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 69% of the original 36 lots announced.

The star lot was: Vu Cao Dam, Les Chrysanthèmes (1949), which sold for $120,300, 26% above its $94,900 low estimate. It has not been traded before.

The outperformer sold for 180% above its low estimate. Mai Trung Thu, Young girl at her toilette (1960), sold for $1,477 ($527 low estimate).

• 6 works, or 24%, sold above their high estimate.
• 16 works, or 64%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 3 works, or 12%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

10 works were bought-in, including: Le Pho, Yellow and Orange Tulips (1975), estimated at $79,100 (low) to $100,200 (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Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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