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Kazuo Shiraga Leads Christie's $15.95m '20/21 CENTURY ART - Day Sale' in Paris

3 min read  ·  19 Oct 2024

降魔 (Gouma) by Kazuo Shiraga sold for $1.03m.
Image courtesy of Christie's

降魔 (Gouma) by Kazuo Shiraga sold for $1.03m. Image courtesy of Christie's

A work by Kazuo Shiraga was the headline sale at Christie's '20/21 CENTURY ART - Day Sale' on October 19 in Paris.

  • The sale totaled $15.95m (EUR14.66m), exceeding the pre-sale high estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

  • 134 works sold totaling $15.95m.
  • Estimates totaled: $10.06m (low) and $14.91m (high), excluding premiums.
  • The sell-through rate was 91% of the original 148 lots announced.

The star lot was: Kazuo Shiraga, 降魔 (Gouma) (1991), which sold for $1.03m, 133% above its $439,400 low estimate. It has been traded twice in the past.

The outperformer sold for 554% above its low estimate. Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Nu de dos (1900), sold for $143,900 ($22,000 low estimate). It has been traded 4 times in the past.

Breakdown of results against auction house estimates that are disclosed

Breakdown of results against auction house estimates that are disclosed

  • 84 works, or 63%, sold above their high estimate.
  • 39 works, or 29%, sold within their low and high estimate.
  • 11 works, or 8%, sold below their low estimate.
  • 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

14 works were bought-in, including: Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Les Pêches (1911), estimated at $131,800 (low) to $197,700 (high). It has been traded 3 times 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Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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