Yoshitomo Nara Leads Christie's $16.06m '21st Century Day Sale' in Hong Kong

A work by Yoshitomo Nara was the headline sale at Christie's '21st Century Day Sale' on September 27 in Hong Kong.

• The sale totaled $16.06m (HKD124.8m), meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 42 works sold totaling $16.06m.
• Estimates totaled: $10.52m (low) and $16.87m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 93% of the original 45 lots announced.

The star lot was: Yoshitomo Nara, ABC (1998), which sold for $2.15m, 139% above its $898,100 low estimate. It has been traded 4 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 506% above its low estimate. Christine Ay Tjoe, First Type of Stairs #02 (2010), sold for $778,200 ($128,300 low estimate). It has been traded once in the past.

• 21 works, or 50%, sold above their high estimate.
• 15 works, or 36%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 6 works, or 14%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

3 works were backed by guarantees, including: Yayoi Kusama, Bird (1987). It sold for $1.73m, 49% above its $1.15m low estimate. It has been traded twice in the past.

Works that did not sell

2 works were bought-in, including: Rashid Johnson, End of Fall (2015), estimated at $154,000 (low) to $282,300 (high). It has been traded once in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

1 work was withdrawn before the sale: Antony Gormley, STOP 3 (MEME) III (2018) estimated at $64,200 (low) to $89,800 (high).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. 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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.