It was pretty rough outing for dealer Alex Novak as he liquidated some of his 19th and early 20th century holdings at Millon in Paris during Paris Photo. None of the top lots found buyers, and with a Buy-In rate over 60% and no positive surprises to help pick up the slack, the Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly €475K) fell well below the low end of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 308 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | €1215400 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | €2011700 |
| Total Lots Sold | 122 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 186 |
| Buy In % | 60.39% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | €477188 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 252 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 105 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 147 |
| Low Buy In % | 58.33% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | €841700 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | €278438 |
| Mid Total Lots | 52 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 17 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 35 |
| Mid Buy In % | 67.31% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | €970000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | €198750 |
| Total High Lots | 4 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 0 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 4 |
| High Buy In % | 100.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | €200000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | €0 |
The top lot by High estimate was tied between four lots, each with a high estimate of €50000: lot 24, Gustave Le Gray, Brick (known as Brick in the Moonlight), 1856-1857, estimated at €20000-50000, lot 26, Gustave Le Gray, Place de la Concorde, Paris, 1859, estimated at €35000-50000, lot 30, Gustave Le Gray, The Forest of Fontainebleau: the Pavé de Chailly, 1856, estimated at €20000-50000, and lot 76, Nadar and Emilio Vieusseux, Charles-Albert Costa de Beauregard in military dress, 1871, estimated at €35000-50000; none of these lots found buyers. The top outcome of the sale was lot 101, Unidentified photographer, Studio of the painter Mariano Fortuny y Marsal (1838-1874), Reclining woman, Rome, c1870, estimated at €12000-15000, sold at €21875 (image above, via Millon).
100.00% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range, but there were no positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate).
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
