Sotheby's Collection Fred Feinsilber, de Giacometti à Brauner Auction Totals $5.46m

A work by Victor Brauner, which had a guarantee, was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Collection Fred Feinsilber, de Giacometti à Brauner' auction on June 3 in Paris.

• The sale totaled $5.46m (EUR4.69m), exceeding the pre-sale high estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 42 works sold totaling $5.46m.
• Estimates totaled: $2.33m (low) and $3.29m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 100%, so a white-glove sale.

The star lot was: Victor Brauner, Victor Victorios écrasant les envoûteurs (1949), which sold for $998,000, 185% above its $349,000 low estimate. The work was backed by a guarantee. It has been traded once in the past.

The outperformer sold for 924% above its low estimate. Herve van der Straeten, Pair of Patmos lamps (2001), sold for $35,700 ($3,490 low estimate).

• 37 works, or 88%, sold above their high estimate.
• 3 works, or 7%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 2 works, or 5%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

4 works were backed by guarantees, including: Victor Brauner, Coupe des cent-vingt dispositions érotomagiques (1946). It sold for $759,700, 86% above its $407,200 low estimate.. It has been traded 3 times in the past.

Works that did not sell

0 works were bought-in.

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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