An overall Buy-In rate over 50% was the primary culprit in the lackluster performance of the recent Fashion Photographs from the Susanne von Meiss Collection sale at Christie’s in Paris. With the top lot Louis Faurer print failing to sell and only a few positive surprises to stem the tide, the Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly €110K) came in 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 | 54 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | €152000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | €230000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 26 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 28 |
| Buy In % | 51.85% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | €113400 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions). Given recent currency fluctuations, we have once again re-adapted our local currency thresholds to match roughly $10000 and $50000 break points between categories.
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 53 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 26 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 27 |
| Low Buy In % | 50.94% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | €215000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | €113400 |
| Mid Total Lots | 1 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 0 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 1 |
| Mid Buy In % | 100.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | €15000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | €0 |
| Total High Lots | 0 |
| Total High Lots Sold | NA |
| Total High Lots Bought In | NA |
| High Buy In % | NA |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | €0 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | €0 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 3, Louis Faurer, Bowing for the Vogue Collections, Paris, 1972/1991, estimated at €10000-15000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 4, Horst P. Horst, Coco Chanel, Paris, 1937/later, estimated at €5000-7000, sold at €12600 (image above, via Christie’s).
100.00% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 2 surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Christie’s):
Lot 10, Melvin Sokolsky, Fly Stairs, Paris, 1965/1997, estimated at €3000-4000, sold at €9450
Lot 53, Thierry Chomel, Yves Saint Laurent Prêt-à-Porter, 1993, estimated at €500-700, sold at €2142
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
