Hokusai Leads Bonhams $168,800 'Japanese' Auction

A work by Various Artists was the headline sale at Bonhams 'Japanese Prints, Paintings, and Screens' auction on December 18.

• The sale totaled $168,800, exceeding the pre-sale high estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 63 works sold totaling $168,800.
• Estimates totaled: $109,300 (low) and $164,800 (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 79% of the original 80 lots announced.

The star lot was: Various Artists, Six Woodblock Prints (1923), which sold for $12,800, 966% above its $1,200 low estimate.

The outperformer sold for 966% above its low estimate. Various Artists, Six Woodblock Prints (1923), sold for $12,800 ($1,200 low estimate).

• 31 works, or 49%, sold above their high estimate.
• 15 works, or 24%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 17 works, or 27%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

16 works were bought-in, including: Eishu, Kiku Jidō (The Chrysanthemum Boy) (Undated), estimated at $2,000 (low) to $3,000 (high).

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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