The outcomes at the photography sale at Van Ham in Cologne last week were generally uneventful. While there were a number of positive surprises, an overall Buy-In rate near 50% and the failure of the two top lots to find buyers dampened the aggregate results. Overall, the Total Sale Proceeds fell meaningfully below the pre-sale estimate. (Van Ham does not provide an estimate range in many cases, just a single estimate number, so this figure is used as the High estimate in our calculations).
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 216 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | NA |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | €566800 |
| Total Lots Sold | 114 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 102 |
| Buy In % | 47.22% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | €322460 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 201 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 95 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 106 |
| Low Buy In % | 52.74% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | €306800 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | €218080 |
| Mid Total Lots | 13 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 7 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 6 |
| Mid Buy In % | 46.15% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | €140000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | €104380 |
| Total High Lots | 2 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 0 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 2 |
| High Buy In % | 100.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | €120000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | €0 |
The top lot by High estimate was tied between two lots: lot 1111, Christian Boltanski, Jewish School, Große Hamburger Straße, Berlin, 1939, 1993, and lot 1221, Candida Höfer, Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires, 2006, both estimated at €50000-60000; neither lot sold. The top outcome of the sale was lot 1108, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Industriebauten, estimated at €15000-18000, sold at €43750
88.60% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate. There were a total of 15 surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):
Lot 1103, David Hockney, Sur le Motif, 1974, estimated at €1000, sold at 2€000 (image at right, middle, via Van Ham)
Lot 1104, Luigi Ghirri, Atelier Giorgio Morandi, 1989/1990, estimated at €3000, sold at €10000 (image at right, top, via Van Ham)
Lot 1108, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Industriebauten, estimated at €15000-18000, sold at €43750
Lot 1122, August Sander, Antlitz der Zeit, 1929, estimated at €1500-2000, sold at €8130
Lot 1137, Lee Friedlander, Baltimore Maryland, 1962, estimated at €2000-3000, sold at €6250
Lot 1140, Jeanloup Sieff, Portrait avec Violette, estimated at €1200, sold at €3000
Lot 1175, Luigi Ghirri, Ferrara, 1979, estimated at €2000, sold at €6250
Lot 1185, Thomas Struth, Paradies, 2004, estimated at €1200, sold at €4380
Lot 1197, Ludwig Windstosser, Schallplatten, 1955, estimated at €1800, sold at €4130
Lot 1271, Claus Goedicke, III-17, 1995, estimated at €300, sold at €750 (image at right, bottom, via Van Ham)
Lot 1286, Felix Bonfils, Album mit Aufnahmen aus Indien, Japan, Vietnam, Israel, Syrien, Libanon, 1880-1900, estimated at €800, sold at €1750
Lot 1295, Siegfried Lauterwasser, Wasser, 1948, estimated at €600, sold at €5380
Lot 1306, Albert Renger-Patzsch, 8 Anischtskarten, 1929, estimated at €800, sold at €2000
Lot 1310, August Sander, Madchenportrait, 1925, estimated at €800-1000, sold at €5000
Lot 1320, Karl Hugo Schmolz, Ohne Titel, 1950s, estimated at €800, sold at €2500
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
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