Hokusai's Great Wave Leads Christie's $4.24m 'Japanese and Korean Art' Auction in New York
3 min read · 18 Sep 2024
Under the well of the Great Wave off Kanagawa “Great Wave” by Katsushika Hokusai sold for $856,800. Image courtesy of Christie's
Under the well of the Great Wave off Kanagawa “Great Wave” by Katsushika Hokusai was the headline sale at Christie's 'Japanese and Korean Art' auction on September 17 in New York.
- The sale totaled $4.24m, exceeding the pre-sale high estimate.
Snapshot of the sale
- 166 works sold totaling $4.24m.
- Estimates totaled: $2.62m (low) and $3.55m (high), excluding premiums.
- The sell-through rate was 89% of the original 187 lots announced.
The star lot was: Katsushika Hokusai, Under the well of the Great Wave off Kanagawa “Great Wave” (Undated), which sold for $856,800, 71% above its $500,000 low estimate.
The outperformer sold for 1076% above its low estimate. Seiyodo Tomiharu, A CARVED WOOD NETSUKE OF A FROG (Undated), sold for $17,600 ($1,500 low estimate). It has not been traded before.
Breakdown of results against auction house estimates that are disclosed
- 110 works, or 66%, sold above their high estimate.
- 45 works, or 27%, sold within their low and high estimate.
- 11 works, or 7%, sold below their low estimate.
- 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.
Guaranteed sales
No sales had a guarantee.
Works that did not sell
21 works were bought-in, including: Katsushika Hokusai, Fuji view plain in Owari Province (1831), estimated at $30,000 (low) to $40,000 (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Withdrawn before the sale
0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.