Bonhams Southeast Asian Modern and Contemporary Art Auction Totals $1.09m

A work by Adrien Jean le Mayeur was the headline sale at Bonhams 'Southeast Asian Modern and Contemporary Art' auction on March 29 in Hong Kong.

• The sale totaled $1.09m (HKD8.55m), meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 33 works sold totaling $1.09m.
• Estimates totaled: $921,300 (low) and $1.4m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 89% of the original 37 lots announced.

The star lot was: Adrien Jean le Mayeur, Interior Scene with Two Balinese Women (1948), which sold for $454,900, 42% above its $319,100 low estimate. It has been traded twice in the past.

The outperformer sold for 860% above its low estimate. U Ngwe Gaing, Portrait of a lady (Undated), sold for $9,813 ($1,021 low estimate). It has not been traded before.

• 14 works, or 42%, sold above their high estimate.
• 16 works, or 48%, 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

4 works were bought-in, including: Cheong Soo Pieng, Maternity (1965), estimated at $102,100 (low) to $153,200 (high). It has been traded twice in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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