Nguyen Van Binh Leads Bonhams $577,000 'Southeast Asian Modern & Contemporary Art' Auction in Hong Kong

A work by Nguyen Van Binh was the headline sale at Bonhams 'Southeast Asian Modern & Contemporary Art' auction on April 8 in Hong Kong.

• The sale totaled $577,000, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 22 works sold totaling $577,000.
• Estimates totaled: $457,500 (low) and $660,300 (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 73% of the original 30 lots announced.

The star lot was: Nguyen Van Binh, The Harvest (1993), which sold for $97,800, 27% above its $76,700 low estimate. It has been traded 3 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 250% above its low estimate. Nguyen Trung, Lotus Offering (2005), sold for $45,800 ($12,800 low estimate). It has been traded twice in the past.

• 11 works, or 50%, sold above their high estimate.
• 11 works, or 50%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 0 works, or 0%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

5 works were bought-in, including: Arie Smit, Children Playing (1989), estimated at $43,500 (low) to $61,400 (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Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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