Le Pho Leads Christie's $8.39m '20th/21st Century Day Sale' in Hong Kong

A work by Le Pho was the headline sale at Christie's '20th/21st Century Day Sale' on November 9 in Hong Kong.

• The sale totaled $8.39m (HKD65.23m), meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 92 works sold totaling $8.39m.
• Estimates totaled: $5.66m (low) and $9.52m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 88% of the original 105 lots announced.

The star lot was: Le Pho, Portrait of the Artist Le Thi Luu (1935), which sold for $648,300, 151% above its $257,300 low estimate. It has been traded 3 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 592% above its low estimate. Zhang Enli, Container (2007), sold for $178,300 ($25,700 low estimate). It has been traded twice in the past.

• 40 works, or 43%, sold above their high estimate.
• 45 works, or 49%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 7 works, or 8%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

8 works were backed by guarantees, including: Takashi Murakami, Panda & Panda Cubs (2015). It sold for $421,400, 48% above its $283,100 low estimate.. It has been traded once in the past.

Works that did not sell

11 works were bought-in, including: Pablo Picasso, *Gros oiseau visage noir * (1951), estimated at $115,800 (low) to $193,000 (high). It has been traded twice in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

2 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Hernan Bas, He’d Never Heard of Dinosaurs (2004) estimated at $77,200 (low) to $154,400 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.