Lempertz celebrated 30 years of photography auctions with a special sale bolted on to the front of its normal various owner photography sale in Cologne last week. And while the selection of higher priced lots gave the sale a bit more firepower than usual, an overly healthy Buy-In rate (more than 42%) weakened the results. The Total Sale Proceeds for the two sales came in at roughly €475K, far underneath the aggregate pre-sale high estimate.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 180 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | NA |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | €1034400 |
| Total Lots Sold | 104 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 76 |
| Buy In % | 42.22% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | €476222 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 152 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 93 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 59 |
| Low Buy In % | 38.82% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | €371400 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | €252712 |
| Mid Total Lots | 25 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 10 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 15 |
| Mid Buy In % | 60.0% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | €473000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | €176390 |
| Total High Lots | 3 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 1 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 2 |
| High Buy In % | 66.67% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | €190000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | €47120 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 20, Leni Riefenstahl, Nuba Portfolio, 2002, estimated at €80000-100000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 4, Karl Blossfeldt, Aconitum anthora (Eisenhut), 1915-1920, estimated at €30000-40000, sold at €47120 (image above via Lempertz).
80.77% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range, and there were a total of 10 positive surprises in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Lempertz):
Lot 9, Umbo, Winterlicher Wald, 1935, estimated at €4000-5000, sold at €11780
Lot 31, Wilhelm Schneider, Vierergespann vor einem Schlosseingang, c1860, estimated at €1500, sold at €3224
Lot 43, Guglielmo Plüschow, Untitled, c1900, estimated at €1200, sold at €2976
Lot 44, Guglielmo Plüschow, Untitled, c1900, estimated at €1200, sold at €2976
Lot 56, Erich Consemüller, Bauhaus Dessau (20 photo post cards), 1926, estimated at €5000-7000, sold at €14880
Lot 105, Albert Renger-Patzsch, Zeche Germania, Dortmund-Marten, 1952, estimated at €2200-2500, sold at €5828
Lot 132, NASA, A front view of the Apollo 14 Lunar Module, 1971, estimated at €900, sold at €1984
Lot 132, NASA, Earth View, 1969, estimated at €900, sold at €3224
Lot 155, Barbara Klemm, Leonid Breschnew, Willy Brandt, Bonn, 1973, estimated at €1200-1500, sold at €4960
Lot 157, Barbara Klemm, Fall der Mauer, Berlin, 10. November 1989, 1989, estimated at €1500-2000, sold at €4712
The complete lot by lot results can be found here (30 Years of Photography at Lempertz) and here (Photography).
