Auction Results: Italia, June 30, 2010 @Phillips London

Whether it was the arrival of the hot summer weather or the thinness of the material on offer, the results for Phillips' recent ITALIA themed sale didn't make much of a stir. The Buy-In rate for photography was over 50% and the Total Sale Proceeds from the photo lots missed the estimate range by a wide margin. This was the last photography-related sale of the season; we'll now take a much needed break from auction reporting until the action picks up again in the fall.

The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):

Total Lots: 73
Pre Sale Low Total Estimate: £447400
Pre Sale High Total Estimate: £631100
Total Lots Sold: 35
Total Lots Bought In: 38
Buy In %: 52.05%
Total Sale Proceeds: £281125

Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post, here):

Low Total Lots: 32
Low Sold: 13
Low Bought In: 19
Buy In %: 59.38%
Total Low Estimate: £110600
Total Low Sold: £40750

Mid Total Lots: 37
Mid Sold: 20
Mid Bought In: 17
Buy In %: 45.95%
Total Mid Estimate: £355500
Total Mid Sold: £196625

High Total Lots: 4
High Sold: 2
High Bought In: 2
Buy In %: 50.00%
Total High Estimate: £165000
Total High Sold: £43750

The top lot by High estimate was lot 120, David LaChapelle, Statue, Los Angeles, 2007, at £50000-70000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 14, Alighiero Boetti, E piove sempre sul bagnato, 1980, at £22500. (Image at right, via Phillips.)

While 97.14% of the lots that sold had proceeds above or in the estimate range, there were no surprises in this sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate).

Complete lot by lot results can be found here.

Phillips De Pury & Company
Howick Place
London SW1P 1BB