Yet another tranche of images from the Martin Z. Margulies collection was on offer last week at Lempertz in Cologne, following two previous sessions at Lempertz in 2025 (here) and several more at Phillips in 2024. This round was generally uneventful, with the top lot honors going to a Nick Brandt lion portrait. The overall Buy-In rate edged up near 40% (with 3 additional withdrawals), and with just a few positive surprises, the Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly €350K) fell below the low end of the aggregate pre-sale estimate.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 210 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | €409500 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | €540400 |
| Total Lots Sold | 127 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 83 |
| Buy In % | 39.52% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | €353601 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 204 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 123 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 81 |
| Low Buy In % | 39.71% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | €435400 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | €291371 |
| Mid Total Lots | 6 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 4 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 2 |
| Mid Buy In % | 33.33% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | €105000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | €62230 |
| 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 648, Danny Lyon, Conversations with the Dead (76 prints), 1967/1968, printed in 1983, estimated at €20000-30000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 707, Nick Brandt, Lion Before Storm II, Sitting Profile, Masai Mara, 2006, estimated at €15000-20000, sold at €19050. (image above, via Lempertz)
79.53% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range, and there were 3 positive surprises in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Lempertz):
Lot 531, George Platt Lynes, Isamu Noguchi, 1930s, estimated at €900-1200, sold at €2794
Lot 535, Herbert Bayer, In Search of Times Past, 1959/1969, estimated at €1000-1500, sold at €10160
Lot 673, Mona Kuhn, Ton’s Creation, 1999, estimated at €1000-1500, sold at €6223
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
