South Korea’s seven major auction houses sold fewer works in the third quarter even as offerings increased, while a shortage of high-priced deals weighed on sales, according to a report from the Korea Art Authentication and Appraisal Research Center.
The report put combined July-September sales at 27.97 billion won ($21.1 million), compared with 31.36 billion won in the same period a year earlier. The houses offered 4,631 works, up 7.8%, while 2,336 works sold, a 1.4% decline.
The 10 works that commanded the highest prices generated 5.35 billion won in total, versus 9.3 billion won a year earlier. Their share of quarterly sales was 19.1%, down from 29.7%.
Seoul Auction sold Yayoi Kusama’s “Pumpkin” for 780 million won ($587,000), the quarter’s highest price. The previous year’s top lot was Lee Jung-seop’s “Bull and Child,” which fetched 3.52 billion won.
The center’s report said the market had yet to attract new buyers or increase sales in the mid-priced range. It attributed first-half gains to a handful of expensive lots and said the third quarter had no comparable sales.
