Bonhams Old Master Paintings Auction Totals $1.7m

A work by Robert Peake the Elder was the headline sale at Bonhams 'Old Master Paintings' auction on July 1-1 in London.

• The sale totaled $1.7m (GBP1.28m), falling short of its pre-sale low estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 32 works sold totaling $1.7m.
• Estimates totaled: $2.45m (low) and $3.72m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 59% of the original 54 lots announced.

The star lot was: Robert Peake the Elder, Portrait of Catherine Howard, Countess of Nottingham, in a black dress decorated with white lace (Undated), which sold for $252,600, 25% above its $200,700 low estimate. It has been traded twice in the past.

The outperformer sold for 878% above its low estimate. Karl Anton Hickel, William Pitt the Younger addressing the House of Commons (Undated), sold for $104,700 ($10,700 low estimate). It has been traded twice in the past.

• 16 works, or 50%, sold above their high estimate.
• 13 works, or 41%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 3 works, or 9%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

20 works were bought-in, including: J.M.W. Turner, Schloss Rhäzüns, Distant View, the Domleschg Valley, Switzerland (1840), estimated at $468,300 (low) to $736,000 (high). It has been traded 4 times in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

2 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Adriaen Pietersz van de Venne, The Village Theatre (1635), estimated at $26,800 (low) to $40,100 (high).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. 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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.