Cai Jia Leads Sotheby's $15.17m 'Fine Classical Chinese Paintings' Auction in Hong Kong

A work by Cai Jia was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Fine Classical Chinese Paintings' auction on April 7 in Hong Kong.

• The sale totaled $15.17m, exceeding the pre-sale high estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 115 works sold totaling $15.17m.
• Estimates totaled: $6.65m (low) and $11.67m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 70% of the original 164 lots announced.

The star lot was: Cai Jia, Landscapes (Undated), which sold for $2.68m, 500% above its $383,600 low estimate.

The outperformer sold for 5600% above its low estimate. Attributed to Lu Ji, Flowers and Birds (Undated), sold for $146,000 ($2,557 low estimate).

• 81 works, or 70%, sold above their high estimate.
• 34 works, or 30%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 0 works, or 0%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

49 works were bought-in, including: Dong Qichang, Winter Landscape in the Style of Li Cheng and Three Poems (Undated), estimated at $511,400 (low) to $767,100 (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Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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