Christie's Graziella Patiño de Ortiz Linares Collection - Evening sale Totals $44.45m

The daughter of Simón I. Patiño, the wealthy Bolivian industrialist known as the “Tin King” or “Rockefeller of the Andes," Graziella Patiño de Ortiz Linares (1900–1980) married Jorge Ortiz de Linares, a Bolivian diplomat. The couple established themselves in Paris during the 1920s and their home became a gathering place for the Parisian elite.

A work by Jean-Honore Fragonard was the headline sale at Christie's 'Graziella Patiño de Ortiz Linares Collection - Evening sale' on September 23 in Paris.

• The sale totaled $44.45m (EUR38.74m), exceeding the pre-sale high estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 51 works sold totaling $44.45m.
• Estimates totaled: $13.63m (low) and $20.37m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 85% of the original 60 lots announced.

The star lot was: Jean-Honore Fragonard, The Desired Moment or The Happy Lovers (Undated), which sold for $12.16m, 319% above its $2.9m low estimate. It has not been traded before.

The outperformer sold for 697% above its low estimate. Attributed to the Workshop of the Sons of André-Charles Boulle, A SMALL REGENCY PERIOD FLAT DESK (1720), sold for $370,100 ($46,400 low estimate). It has been traded once in the past.

• 37 works, or 76%, sold above their high estimate.
• 11 works, or 22%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 1 works, or 2%, sold below their low estimate.
• 2 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

8 works were bought-in, including: Eugene Delacroix, Oriental Soldiers Asleep in a Guard Post (Undated), estimated at $290,100 (low) to $406,100 (high). It has not been traded before.

Withdrawn before the sale

1 work was withdrawn before the sale: Antoine Le Nain, The Little Dancers or The Preparation for the Dance (1643), estimated at $1.74m (low) to $2.9m (high).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.