Auction Highlights
• Very disappointing auction – 59% sold and price performance below mid estimate. From 172 lots offered in this auction, only 59% was sold (102 lots). The auction generated total revenue of Rp 2,235mn (before hammer price) – a bit lower than the Mid Estimate (ME) of Rp 2,362mn, but much lower compared to the High Estimate (HE) of Rp 2,795mn. This is a solid proof of how the market was only keen on buying in the lower range of the estimated price.
• Balinese painting category was not performing well during this auction. Among 172 lots offered, 79 lots of Balinese paintings (46%) were offered in this category. Only 49% of the lots were sold, 10 lots (25%) were sold Below Estimate (BE), 28 lots (70%) were sold only in the lower range of the price estimation, and only 2 lots (5%) were sold Above Estimate (AE).
• Only few contemporaries arts performing well during the auction.Pieces from S. Toyo (Lot#64) had the best performance, which was sold 107% above the HE. Other artists that were performing well in this category were Zaini (Lot#95) and Koeboe Sarawan (Lot#155).
• Few participants. Out of approximately 80+ participants, we estimated about 40 winning bidders.
• Top Performers Category – Sculpture, Modern & Contemporary painters, Arie Smit & the Young Artist, and Ubud Style – Bali Life from the Balinese painting category (refer to Table 1).
• Worst Performer Category – None of these lots (Ubud Style – Dance & Drama, Batuan Style, and Balinese Mythology) were sold above the HE. 71% were left unsold in Ubud Style – Dance & Drama category. 59% were unsold in Batuan Style and 56% were unsold in Balinese Mythology.
• Recommendation: In time of turbulence, always stick to good quality pieces from established artists or old masters. From this auction, we could clearly see how the pieces by the old masters (Deblog, Kobot, Gelgel) could also had dissatisfying results if they were not in good quality.
• Overall, a disappointing auction with no major exquisite and rare pieces of artworks.
