Sotheby's Master Paintings & Works of Art Part I Auction Totals $27.9m

A work by Jean-Honore Fragonard, which had a guarantee, was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Master Paintings & Works of Art Part I' auction on February 5 in New York.

• The sale totaled $27.9m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 41 works sold totaling $27.9m.
• Estimates totaled: $25.79m (low) and $38.23m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 82% of the original 50 lots announced.

The star lot was: Jean-Honore Fragonard, Head of a Bearded Man (Undated), which sold for $2.73m, 355% above its $600,000 low estimate. The work was backed by a guarantee. It has been traded 9 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 1053% above its low estimate. French Or Flemish School, Portrait of a Bearded Man Wearing a Cream Doublet (Undated), sold for $2.31m ($200,000 low estimate). It has been traded 7 times in the past.

• 23 works, or 56%, sold above their high estimate.
• 17 works, or 41%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 1 works, or 2%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

5 works were backed by guarantees, including: Jan Lievens, Allegory of the Five Senses (Undated). It sold for $2.61m, 30% above its $2m low estimate.. It has been traded 5 times in the past.

Works that did not sell

7 works were bought-in, including: Francisco Zurbaran, Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria (Undated), estimated at $800,000 (low) to $1.2m (high). It has been traded 4 times in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

2 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Antonello da Messina, Ecce Homo; Saint Jerome in Penitence (Undated) estimated at $10m (low) to $15m (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.