A Buy-In rate above 50% muted the results from the Photography sale at Lempertz in Cologne last week. The top lot Albert Renger-Patzsch image failed to sell, and a handful of positive surprises didn’t generate enough momentum to improve the numbers much. When the dust settled, the Total Sale Proceeds of roughly €250K came in well below the aggregate pre-sale high estimate.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 169 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | €388300 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | €504000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 84 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 85 |
| Buy In % | 50.30% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | €252567 |
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 | 163 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 81 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 82 |
| Low Buy In % | 50.31% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | €346000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | €207837 |
| Mid Total Lots | 5 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 3 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 2 |
| Mid Buy In % | 40.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | €88000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | €44730 |
| Total High Lots | 1 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 0 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 1 |
| High Buy In % | 100.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | €70000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | €0 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 528, Albert Renger-Patzsch, Das Bäumchen, 1929, estimated at €50000-70000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 513, Karl Blossfeldt, Acer pensylvanicum (Striped maple), 1915-1925, estimated at €25000-30000, sold at €23940 (image above via Lempertz).
78.57% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range, and there were a total of 7 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Lempertz):
Lot 519, Hugo Erfurth, Renée Sintenis, 1924, estimated at €3000-4000, sold at €15120
Lot 536, Umbo, Tea for two (from the series: Himmelskamera), 1936/1937, estimated at €2000-2500, sold at €8190
Lot 602, Barbara Klemm, An der Mauer, Berlin-Kreuzberg, 1977/later, estimated at €1200-1500, sold at €5040
Lot 603, Barbara Klemm, Alexanderplatz, Ost-Berlin/DDR, 1970/later, estimated at €1200-1500, sold at €4284
Lot 621, Barbara Klemm, Leonid Breschnew, Willy Brandt, Staatsbesuch, Bonn, 1973/later, estimated at €1500-2000, sold at €4284
Lot 637, Jan Saudek, Life, 1966/later, estimated at €1200-1500, sold at €3024
Lot 643, Anton Corbijn, Naomi Campbell (lips), London, 1993, estimated at €5000-6000, sold at €12600
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
