A woodblock print of "The Great Wave," an iconic ukiyo-e piece by Edo Period (1603 to 1868) artist Katsushika Hokusai, sold this week for well above the estimate posted by Christie’s auction house, breaking a record for one of his pieces.
The work, formally titled "Under the Wave off Kanagawa," sold on Tuesday for $2.76 million (about ¥360 million) during a live auction featuring Japanese and Korean art, according to Christie’s. It was originally estimated to sell for between $500,000 and $700,000.
The previous record was set in 2021 with the sale of another "Great Wave" print for $1.59 million, despite an estimate of $150,000, according to Christie’s.
“It ranks beyond doubt among the 20 or so best impressions surviving today,” Matthi Forrer, senior researcher of the National Museum of Ethnology in The Netherlands, said in background posted by the auction house.
According to Forrer, the print was on display most recently in an exhibition at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, organized by the Denmark-Japan Society in 1993 and was among at least 18 works from the artist’s renowned series titled “Fugaku Sanjurokkei" ("Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji"), dated between 1830 and 1832. The 265 by 390 millimeter piece was acquired by the family of the previous owner in the early 1900s before this week’s sale with Christie’s.
The Cabinet Office has called the series by Hokusai “the most famous work of Japanese art."
Hokusai was born in Tokyo’s Sumida district, where he spent the majority of his life and created several works considered masterpieces. Today, the Sumida Hokusai Museum is located in the area.