Rene Magritte Leads Sotheby's $12.31m 'Origins' Auction in Saudi Arabia

A work by Rene Magritte, which had a guarantee, was the headline sale at Sotheby's first auction in Saudi Arabia on February 8. Titled "Origins", part 1 of the sale featured fine art.

• The sale totaled $12.31m, falling short of its pre-sale low estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 43 works sold totaling $12.31m.
• Estimates totaled: $13.89m (low) and $20.01m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 75% of the original 57 lots announced.

The star lot was: Rene Magritte, L'État de veille (1958), which sold for $1.2m, 19% above its $1m low estimate. The work was backed by a guarantee. It has been traded 8 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 450% above its low estimate. James Turrell, The Light Underneath (2006), sold for $660,000 ($120,000 low estimate). It has been traded twice in the past.

• 19 works, or 44%, sold above their high estimate.
• 17 works, or 40%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 6 works, or 14%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

6 works were backed by guarantees, including: Rene Magritte, L'État de veille (1958). It sold for $1.2m, 19% above its $1m low estimate.. It has been traded 8 times in the past.

Works that did not sell

12 works were bought-in, including: Fernando Botero, Man on Horse (2010), estimated at $1m (low) to $1.5m (high). It has not been traded before.

Withdrawn before the sale

2 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Antony Gormley, Antony Gormley (2021) estimated at $700,000 (low) to $900,000 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.