Sotheby's Contemporary Day Auction Totals $7.59m
3 min read · 30 Mar 2026
Pumpkin (8) by Yayoi Kusama sold for $899,300. Image courtesy of Sotheby's
A work by Yayoi Kusama was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Contemporary Day Auction' on March 30 in Hong Kong.
- The sale totaled $7.59m (HKD59.39m), meeting the pre-sale estimate.
Snapshot of the sale
- 47 works sold totaling $7.59m.
- Estimates totaled: $5.55m (low) and $8.86m (high), excluding premiums.
- The sell-through rate was 92% of the original 51 lots announced.
The star lot was: Yayoi Kusama, Pumpkin (8) (1997), which sold for $899,300, 35% above its $664,200 low estimate. It has been traded 6 times in the past.
Bourou-H by Minoru Nomata sold for $67,000 (556% above estimate). Image courtesy of Sotheby's
The outperformer sold for 556% above its low estimate. Minoru Nomata, Bourou-H (1994), sold for $67,000 ($10,200 low estimate). It has been traded once in the past.
- 20 works, or 43%, sold above their high estimate.
- 25 works, or 53%, sold within their low and high estimate.
- 2 works, or 4%, sold below their low estimate.
- 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.
Guaranteed sales
No sales had a guarantee.
Works that did not sell
3 works were bought-in, including: Mr., Untitled (Undated), estimated at $102,200 (low) to $191,600 (high). It has been traded once in the past.
Withdrawn before the sale
1 work was withdrawn before the sale: Yoshitomo Nara, Wish a Little Star (2014), estimated at $319,300 (low) to $447,100 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.
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