Huang Yongyu Leads Sotheby's, Online $910,300 'Inkspiration: Chinese Paintings Online' Auction

A work by Huang Yongyu was the headline sale at Sotheby's, Online 'Inkspiration: Chinese Paintings Online' auction on June 10.

• The sale totaled $910,300 (HKD7.14m), meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 170 works sold totaling $910,300.
• Estimates totaled: $760,200 (low) and $1.37m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 90% of the original 189 lots announced.

The star lot was: Huang Yongyu, 仙遊朱荷 | Red Lotus (1983), which sold for $35,600, 74% above its $20,400 low estimate.

The outperformer sold for 1804% above its low estimate. Weng Fanggang, 縮臨蘭亭帖 | Miniature Lanting Xu Rubbing (Undated), sold for $7,281 ($382 low estimate).

• 56 works, or 33%, sold above their high estimate.
• 50 works, or 29%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 64 works, or 38%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

19 works were bought-in, including: No Artist, 山林高隱圖 | Landscape (Undated), estimated at $25,500 (low) to $51,000 (high).

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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