Nicolas Party Leads Christie's $18.76m '21st Century Art Day Sale' in Hong Kong

A work by Nicolas Party, which had a guarantee, was the headline sale at Christie's '21st Century Art Day Sale' on November 29 in Hong Kong.

• The sale totaled $18.76m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 68 works sold totaling $18.76m.
• Estimates totaled: $12.6m (low) and $19.84m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 81% of the original 84 lots announced.

The star lot was: Nicolas Party, Winter Trees (2017), which sold for $2.38m, 68% above its $1.41m low estimate. The work was backed by a guarantee. It has been traded once in the past.

The outperformer sold for 1600% above its low estimate. Yi Wang, In the Jungle (2020), sold for $177,700 ($10,300 low estimate). It has been traded twice in the past.

A talking point was Salvo, I giorni della brina (The days of snow) (2010), which sold for $193,900, 600% more than its $26,000 low estimate. The work has been traded once in the past.

• 37 works, or 54%, sold above their high estimate.
• 27 works, or 40%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 4 works, or 6%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

2 works were backed by guarantees, including: Nicolas Party, Winter Trees (2017). It sold for $2.38m, 68% above its $1.41m low estimate.. It has been traded once in the past.

Works that did not sell

14 works were bought-in, including: Zhang Xiaogang, Duplicated Space No.1 (1989), estimated at $320,700 (low) to $577,200 (high). It has been traded 3 times in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

2 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Jamian Juliano-Villani, Stay Weird (2021) estimated at $25,700 (low) to $38,500 (high).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. 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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.