Sotheby's Master Sculpture from Four Millennia Auction Totals $1.23m
3 min read · 03 Jul 2026
A Bronze Figure of a Priest by Umbro-Etruscan, circa 4th century B.C sold for $125,400. Image courtesy of Sotheby's
A work by Umbro-Etruscan, circa 4th century B.C was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Master Sculpture from Four Millennia' auction on July 1 in London.
- The sale totaled $1.23m (GBP930,200), falling short of its pre-sale low estimate.
Snapshot of the sale
- 52 works sold totaling $1.23m.
- Estimates totaled: $1.83m (low) and $2.85m (high), excluding premiums.
- The sell-through rate was 67% of the original 78 lots announced.
The star lot was: Umbro-Etruscan, circa 4th century B.C, A Bronze Figure of a Priest (Undated), which sold for $125,400, 279% above its $33,000 low estimate. It has been traded 4 times in the past.
Basin by Italian 16Th Century sold for $23,700 (498% above estimate). Image courtesy of Sotheby's
The outperformer sold for 498% above its low estimate. Italian 16Th Century, Basin (Undated), sold for $23,700 ($3,960 low estimate). It has been traded 3 times in the past.
- 17 works, or 33%, sold above their high estimate.
- 24 works, or 46%, sold within their low and high estimate.
- 11 works, or 21%, sold below their low estimate.
- 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.
Guaranteed sales
No sales had a guarantee.
Works that did not sell
25 works were bought-in, including: Cornelis Bellekin, A Dutch silver-gilt-mounted nautilus shell (Undated), estimated at $264,000 (low) to $528,000 (high). It has not been traded before.
Withdrawn before the sale
1 work was withdrawn before the sale: After Adriaen de Vries, Rearing Horse (Undated), estimated at $7,920 (low) to $10,600 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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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