Dutch Old Master Leads Sotheby's $4m 'Master Works on Paper from Five Centuries' Auction in New York
3 min read · 02 Feb 2024
Portrait of a Man, bust-length, wearing a fur hat by Netherlandish School sold for $482,600. Image courtesy of Sotheby's
A Netherlandish School Old Master drawing was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Master Works on Paper from Five Centuries' auction on January 31 in New York.
- The sale totaled $4m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.
Snapshot of the sale
- 51 works sold totaling $4m.
- Estimates totaled: $3.5m (low) and $5.15m (high), excluding premiums.
- The sell-through rate was 56% of the original 91 lots announced.
The star lot was: Netherlandish School, Portrait of a Man, bust-length, wearing a fur hat (Undated), which sold for $482,600, 60% above its $300,000 low estimate. The silverpoint portrait on ivory prepared paper has been traded 3 times in the past.
The outperformer sold for 1400% above its low estimate. Johannes Wierix, The sacrifices of Cain and Abel (Undated), sold for $76,200 ($5,000 low estimate). It has been traded once in the past.
Breakdown of results against auction house estimates that are disclosed
- 25 works, or 49%, sold above their high estimate.
- 17 works, or 33%, sold within their low and high estimate.
- 9 works, or 18%, sold below their low estimate.
- 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.
Guaranteed sales
No sales had a guarantee.
Works that did not sell
39 works were bought-in, including: Giovanni Paolo Panini, View of the courtyard of the Palazzo Farnese with the statue of Hercules, seen from behind and through an archway, and several figures (Undated), estimated at $250,000 (low) to $350,000 (high). It has not been traded before.
Withdrawn before the sale
0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.