One of Amy Cappellazzo’s early successes in the auction business was when she sold in May of 2003 an edition of Takashi Murakami’s Miss Ko2 for the then un-heard-of price of $567,500. Seven years later, another example of the work was sold by Philippe Ségalot at his Carte Blanche sale at Phillips for a whopping $6.8m, a nearly 12-fold increase in price.
On April 2, Sotheby’s will bring another example from the edition of 3 to market in Hong Kong with an estimate of HK$15-20m ($1.9-2.6m.) The work achieved Murakami’s second highest price when it sold at Phillips. The estimate may be an indication of a re-calibrated Murakami market. But it might also be a red flag to collectors for one of the artist’s most recognizable and exhibited pieces.
