Yayoi Kusama Leads SBI Art Auction Co. $5.13m 'Modern and Contemporary Art' Auction in Tokyo

A work by Yayoi Kusama was the headline sale at SBI Art Auction Co. 'Modern and Contemporary Art' auction on May 23-24 in Tokyo.

• The sale totaled $5.13m (JPY732.2m), meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 276 works sold totaling $5.13m.
• Estimates totaled: $3.32m (low) and $5.48m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 90% of the original 308 lots announced.

The star lot was: Yayoi Kusama, Flowers (1987), which sold for $459,800, 32% above its $346,400 low estimate. It has not been traded before.

The outperformer sold for 773% above its low estimate. ob, A Place To Return To (2011), sold for $48,400 ($5,542 low estimate). It has not been traded before.

• 119 works, or 43%, sold above their high estimate.
• 139 works, or 50%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 18 works, or 7%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

32 works were bought-in, including: Kyne, Untitled (2020), estimated at $69,300 (low) to $103,900 (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Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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