Phillips Modern & Contemporary Art Auction Totals $10.26m

A work by Lancelot Ribeiro was the headline sale at Phillips 'Modern & Contemporary Art' auction on March 7 in London.

• The sale totaled $10.26m (GBP7.68m), meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 97 works sold totaling $10.26m.
• Estimates totaled: $8.98m (low) and $12.92m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 69% of the original 140 lots announced.

The star lot was: Lancelot Ribeiro, Landscape at Noon (1964), which sold for $689,800, 411% above its $134,900 low estimate. It has not been traded before.

The outperformer sold for 1370% above its low estimate. Jens Juel, Seated Chinese Man in Mandarin Dress (En siddende kineser i mandarindragt) (1780), sold for $198,300 ($13,500 low estimate). It has been traded 6 times in the past.

• 47 works, or 48%, sold above their high estimate.
• 39 works, or 40%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 11 works, or 11%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

3 works were backed by guarantees, including: Vilhelm Hammershoi, The Artist's Wife Ida (Portrætstudie af kunstnerens hustru Ida) (1895). It sold for $293,200, 46% above its $200,500 low estimate.. It has been traded 3 times in the past.

Works that did not sell

36 works were bought-in, including: John Baldessari, The Intersection Series: Large Group of Persons Meeting/Public Building (2002), estimated at $175,300 (low) to $269,700 (high). It has been traded once in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

7 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Adrian Ghenie, 27 July 1890 (2014), estimated at $202,300 (low) to $269,700 (high).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. 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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.