Tom of Finland Leads Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr $589,500 'The Male Form' Auction in Brussels

A work by Tom of Finland was the headline sale at Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr 'The Male Form' auction on June 25 in Brussels.

• The sale totaled $589,500, falling short of its pre-sale low estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 78 works sold totaling $589,500.
• Estimates totaled: $638,900 (low) and $929,000 (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 66% of the original 118 lots announced.

The star lot was: Tom of Finland, Untitled (Panel 23 from Sex in the Shed) (1975), which sold for $48,100, 100% above its $21,500 low estimate. It has been traded once in the past.

The outperformer sold for 900% above its low estimate. Constant Ambroise Roux, The Wrath of Achilles (Undated), sold for $34,300 ($3,230 low estimate). It has not been traded before.

• 30 works, or 38%, sold above their high estimate.
• 44 works, or 56%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 4 works, or 5%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

39 works were bought-in, including: Robert Mapplethorpe, Self Portrait (1985), estimated at $64,600 (low) to $86,100 (high). It has been traded 3 times in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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