Hokusai's Under the Wave off Kanagawa Leads Bonhams $2.27m 'A Private Collection of Japanese Prints and Watercolors' Auction in New York

A work by Katsushika Hokusai was the headline sale at Bonhams 'A Private Collection of Japanese Prints and Watercolors' auction on September 18 in New York.

• The sale totaled $2.27m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 13 works sold totaling $2.27m.
• Estimates totaled: $1.83m (low) and $2.41m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 76% of the original 17 lots announced.

The star lot was: Katsushika Hokusai, Kanagawa-oki nami-ura (Under the Wave off Kanagawa), (1830), which sold for $889,500, 27% above its $700,000 low estimate.

The outperformer sold for 138% above its low estimate. Kitagawa Utamaro, Tamaya no uchi Hanamurasaki, Sekiya, Teriya (Hanamurasaki of the Tamaya, [ kamuro ] Seiya, Teriya) (1790), sold for $191,000 ($80,000 low estimate).

• 7 works, or 54%, sold above their high estimate.
• 6 works, or 46%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 0 works, or 0%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

4 works were bought-in, including: Kawase Hasui, *Matsuyamajō, Tonashimon (Tonashimon gate, Matsuyama Castle) * (1953), estimated at $45,000 (low) to $55,000 (high).

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn

Terms and definitions

All results include the fees and premiums added to the price of a work of art when the auctioneer's hammer falls. Sale prices are compared to the auction house’s low estimate, which do not include premiums.

Guarantees: Sometimes an auction house guarantees to pay a seller for a work, regardless of whether the bidding reaches the reserve price, a figure that is typically confidential.

Bought-in: If there are no bids for a work, or if bidding falls short of the reserve price, the lot is unsold or “bought-in”.

Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.

Premiums: Typically a sliding-scale of charges paid in addition to the hammer price by the buyer, plus any other fees.