Nearly 200 years since its creation, Katsushika Hokusai‘s Kanagawa-oki nami-ura (Under the Wave off Kanagawa) is arguably the most recognizable Japanese artwork in the island nation’s history. Commonly referred to as The Great Wave, Hokusai’s woodblock print depicts the towering might of the seas as Mount Fuji stands as a tiny sliver in the distance.
Experts believe that roughly 5,000 to 8,000 of the original woodblock prints exist today, but a much smaller batch that is in pristine condition. This fall, Bonhams and Christie’s will soon auction two original prints from the latter group of Great Wave prints. “An example in good condition with no in-painting, with a good look, and is fresh to the market can typically sell for between $500,000 and $1.5m USD,” said Jeff Olson, Bonhams’ director of Japanese Art in an interview with ARTnews, and that last iteration was “not as early or as innocent as this one.”
The sales come at a time when interest in the Great Wave works are at an all-time high, as one of the woodblock prints sold for $2.8m USD last March, shattering its pre-estimate of $500,000 to $700,000 USD. “A Private Collection of Japanese Prints and Watercolors” will commence at Bonhams New York on September 14, 2024, while Asian Art Week will begin at Christie’s New York from September 11 to 17, 2024.
