Christie's Summer Reverie: Chinese Paintings Online Auction Totals $2.89m

A work by Lin Fengmian was the headline sale at Christie's 'Summer Reverie: Chinese Paintings Online' auction on August 4-18 in Hong Kong.

• The sale totaled $2.89m (HKD22.71m), exceeding the pre-sale high estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 177 works sold totaling $2.89m.
• Estimates totaled: $1.51m (low) and $2.5m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 92% of the original 193 lots announced.

The star lot was: Lin Fengmian, Lady Holding Fan (Undated), which sold for $242,800, 375% above its $51,000 low estimate.

The outperformer sold for 788% above its low estimate. Sha Menghai, Calligraphy - Longevity (Undated), sold for $11,300 ($1,275 low estimate).

• 91 works, or 51%, sold above their high estimate.
• 60 works, or 34%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 26 works, or 15%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

16 works were bought-in, including: Qi Baishi, Morning Glories (Undated), estimated at $25,500 (low) to $38,300 (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Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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