Sotheby’s Hong Kong evening sale reaches $85.6 million: Yoshitomo Nara’s “Present” leads at $9.14 million

Sotheby’s has successfully concluded its Modern & Contemporary Evening Auction in Hong Kong, which totaled $85.59 million (HK$671.3 million), meeting pre-sale estimates, as HENI News reports on the September 28, 2026 auction.

The star of the evening was Yoshitomo Nara’s “Present” (1994), which sold for $9.14 million — 43% above its $6.37 million low estimate. The work, backed by a purchase guarantee, has traded three times in the past. Among the 12 guaranteed works was also Yayoi Kusama’s “PUMPKIN (TWPOT)” (2010), which reached $7.74 million, 26% above its low estimate.

The evening’s surprise was Yu Nishimura’s “at night” (2022), sold for $293,700 — a full 360% above its $63,700 low estimate. In total, 46 works sold from 55 announced lots, a sell-through rate of 84%: 41% of works sold above the high estimate, 52% within the estimate range and only 7% below. Six works found no buyers, among them Zao Wou-Ki’s “31.07.68” (1968), estimated between $2.68 and $3.57 million.

Three works were withdrawn before the sale, among them Mark Rothko’s “Untitled (Plum and Dark Brown)” (1964), estimated between $9.94 and $16.32 million.