Yayoi Kusama Leads Bonhams $7.77m 'Modern & Contemporary Art' Auction in Hong Kong

A work by Yayoi Kusama was the headline sale at Bonhams 'Modern & Contemporary Art' auction on May 25 in Hong Kong.

• The sale totaled $7.77m, exceeding the pre-sale high estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 26 works sold totaling $7.77m.
• Estimates totaled: $2.34m (low) and $3.54m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 48% of the original 54 lots announced.

The star lot was: Yayoi Kusama, INFINITY (1995), which sold for $5.94m. Estimates were undisclosed. It has been traded twice in the past.

The outperformer sold for 100% above its low estimate. Wang Guangyi, Great Criticism Series: Evian (1996), sold for $57,400 ($25,600 low estimate). It has been traded once in the past.

• 8 works, or 32%, sold above their high estimate.
• 16 works, or 64%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 1 works, or 4%, sold below their low estimate.
• 1 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

20 works were bought-in, including: Park SeoBo, Écriture No.151005 (2015), estimated at $230,700 (low) to $358,900 (high). It has been traded once in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

8 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Liu Ye, Uncle Lei Feng (2003) estimated at $512,700 (low) to $769,000 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.