Yinka Shonibare Auction Prices and Value Guide

Yinka Shonibare auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 185 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

Yinka Shonibare auction prices: quick answer

Yinka Shonibare auction prices depend on medium, size, date, condition, provenance, edition details, attribution confidence, and recent comparable auction sales.

Artist
Yinka Shonibare
Source records
185
Market update
2026-02-16

Yinka Shonibare market snapshot

Yinka Shonibare shows solid auction liquidity with 92 tracked lots. Median realized sale is around $2,772. Category concentration is still broad or sparse. Last 12 months recorded 12 sales. Latest recorded sale: 2025-12-12.

Realized price distribution

  • Under $1,000 (27.7% · 13 sales)
  • $1,000 to $10,000 (29.8% · 14 sales)
  • $10,000+ (42.6% · 20 sales)
Median sale (last 12 months)
$250
Sales recorded (last 12 months)
12
Median shift vs prior year
0.0%
Latest recorded sale
2025-12-12

Artist context

About Yinka Shonibare

Yinka Shonibare (born 1962, London) is a British-Nigerian artist whose practice spans sculpture, photography, film, and installation. Raised in Nigeria and based in London, he studied at Byam Shaw School of Art and Goldsmiths in the late 1980s. Shonibare is recognised internationally for his use of brightly patterned Dutch wax fabric — a material with complex colonial trade origins — which he drapes over headless mannequins in Victorian dress, mounts as sails on model ships, and incorporates into wall-based works. Recurring themes in his practice include the legacies of empire, the construction of cultural identity, and the ironies of global exchange. His work is held in major public collections including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and Tate in London. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to the arts.

Contemporary artPost-colonial artSculpture (mannequin figures, mixed-media installations)PhotographyFilm and videoDutch wax fabric (Ankara) as fine-art materialCultural identity and hybridityColonialism and post-colonialismGlobalisation and trade historyVictorian and European historical costume

Common works and media

Shonibare's auction and appraisal profile includes headless mannequin figures dressed in Dutch wax fabric period costumes, model ships with patterned fabric sails, photographic series, video installations, fabric-covered globes, and wall-based paintings on or incorporating Ankara textile. Editioned prints and photographs are the most frequently traded works. Unique mixed-media sculptures and large installations appear less often but carry greater institutional significance.

Market and appraisal context

Shonibare's work appears regularly at major auction houses and is held by leading museum collections worldwide, which supports strong market visibility. Collectors most frequently encounter his editioned prints, photographic works, and smaller-scale sculptures at auction, though large-scale installations and public commissions such as Nelson's Ship in a Bottle (2010) represent the most institutionally significant category of his output. Factors affecting appraisal include medium, scale, date of execution, provenance (especially museum exhibition history), edition size for prints and photographs, and the physical condition of the fabric elements that are integral to many pieces.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Common auction categories

  • Contemporary Art
  • Post-War and Contemporary Art
  • Editions and Prints

Value drivers

  1. Museum-collection provenance: works held by MoMA, Tate, and other major institutions strengthen market confidence
  2. Large-scale public commissions (e.g. Fourth Plinth) add institutional provenance and visibility
  3. Unique sculptures and large installations are rarer than prints and photographs, and typically command higher prices at auction
  4. Condition of fabric elements in mixed-media works is a material consideration for appraisal
  5. Edition size and numbering are relevant for photographic and print works

Appraisal caveats

  • Market values for Shonibare's work vary significantly between media: unique sculptures and large installations differ materially from editioned prints and photographs.
  • The 185 works tracked in auction databases span multiple decades and media; direct price comparisons should account for work type, size, date, and provenance.
  • No specific price ranges or auction results are cited here because realised-price evidence was not included in the source pack.

Evidence

Sources for artist context

This source-grounded artist context passed Appraisily's promotion threshold: high confidence, strong sources.

Source-grounded artist Markdown

Data basis

This page is built from Appraisily's public auction market index. Private transactions, incomplete sale feeds, and attribution changes may not be fully represented.

LLM-readable Markdown summary for Yinka Shonibare

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is Yinka Shonibare worth?

Comparable public auction sales are the best starting point, but final value depends on the specific artwork, condition, size, medium, provenance, and attribution confidence.

Can Appraisily value my Yinka Shonibare artwork?

Yes. Appraisily can review photos, dimensions, signatures, condition, provenance, and comparable market data to prepare a current valuation.