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Utagawa Hiroshige I Leads Sotheby's, Online $1.17m 'Japanese Woodblock Prints' Auction

3 min read  ·  19 Jul 2024

 The complete set of One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei) by Utagawa Hiroshige I sold for $405,400.
Image courtesy of Sotheby's, Online

The complete set of One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei) by Utagawa Hiroshige I sold for $405,400. Image courtesy of Sotheby's, Online

A work by Utagawa Hiroshige I was the headline sale at Sotheby's, Online 'Japanese Woodblock Prints' auction on July 18.

  • The sale totaled $1.17m (GBP900,500), exceeding the pre-sale high estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

  • 38 works sold totaling $1.17m.
  • Estimates totaled: $640,400 (low) and $869,300 (high), excluding premiums.
  • The sell-through rate was 84% of the original 45 lots announced.

The star lot was: Utagawa Hiroshige I,

  • The complete set of One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)* (1856), which sold for $405,400, 162% above its $154,300 low estimate.

The outperformer sold for 1112% above its low estimate. Kawase Hasui, *Tenno-ji Temple in Osaka (Osaka Tenno-ji) * (Undated), sold for $109,100 ($9,002 low estimate).

Breakdown of results against auction house estimates that are disclosed

Breakdown of results against auction house estimates that are disclosed

  • 24 works, or 63%, sold above their high estimate.
  • 7 works, or 18%, sold within their low and high estimate.
  • 7 works, or 18%, sold below their low estimate.
  • 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

7 works were bought-in, including: Utagawa Toyohiro, *Enjoying the Evening Cool at Ryogoku * (Undated), estimated at $25,700 (low) to $38,600 (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Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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