Anne Seymour Damer Leads Sotheby's $3.33m 'Master Sculpture from Four Millennia' Auction in London

A work by Anne Seymour Damer was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Master Sculpture from Four Millennia' auction on July 2 in London.

• The sale totaled $3.33m (GBP2.43m), meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 57 works sold totaling $3.33m.
• Estimates totaled: $2.5m (low) and $3.73m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 67% of the original 85 lots announced.

The star lot was: Anne Seymour Damer, Shock Dog (1795), which sold for $871,700, 221% above its $271,200 low estimate. It has been traded once in the past.

The outperformer sold for 864% above its low estimate. Victor Segoffin, Mauvais Genie (1897), sold for $78,500 ($8,136 low estimate).

• 23 works, or 40%, sold above their high estimate.
• 17 works, or 30%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 17 works, or 30%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

27 works were bought-in, including: No Artist, A Greek Marble Grave Stele, Attic, circa 2nd Century B.C. (Undated), estimated at $108,500 (low) to $162,700 (high). It has been traded 4 times in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

1 work was withdrawn before the sale: Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, Maquette for La Liberté, Liberty Enlightening the World (Undated) estimated at $271,200 (low) to $406,800 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.