KATSUSHIKA HOKUSAI (1760-1849), Kanagawa oki nami ura (Under the well of the Great Wave off Kanagawa) [“Great Wave”] Lot 84, Estimate US$800,000-1,200,000, Japanese and Korean Art Sale
Christie’s Asian Art Week returns to New York this month, spotlighting masterworks from across the region’s most celebrated artistic traditions.
Leading the week is Gesture (1977) by Tyeb Mehta, a commanding highlight of the South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art auction, presented alongside significant works by Sayed Haider Raza, Maqbool Fida Husain and Ganesh Pyne. Japanese and Korean Art is crowned by Katsushika Hokusai’s Great Wave and an exceptional Joseon Dynasty Moon Jar.
Important Chinese Art presents rare imperial ceramics, Shouyang Studio bronzes as well as pottery and porcelains from the Max N. Berry Collections, led by a Yongzheng mark-and-period doucai meiping. Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art features important Indian miniature paintings, including works from the Parson Family Collection.
For the first time, Christie’s introduces a new online sale Anime Starts Here: Japanese Subculture Reimagines Tradition, exploring the visual dialogue between Japan’s classical artistic heritage and the subcultural movements that have shaped contemporary global culture. Explore these works and more at our Rockefeller Center galleries before the auctions begin March 20!
Explore the full auction schedules below:
Japanese and Korean Art
Auction: Tuesday, March 24, 2026 at 10am EDT ( Lots 1-165)
Previews: March 20–23, 2026
This season’s Japanese and Korean Art sale is led by a masterpiece Great Wave by Katsushika Hokusai and a superb example of a Joseon Dynasty Moon Jar, one of the most coveted and culturally significant forms in Korean ceramics. Moon Jars — spherical, luminous white vessels dating from the 17th to 19th centuries — are considered among the highest achievements of Korean ceramic artistry and are prized for their rarity, with only handful examples surviving worldwide.
The auction also features a complete set of Utagawa Hiroshige’s One Hundred Views of Famous Places in Edo, a fine collection of netsuke, an excellent section of modern paintings, and a curated selection of lacquer works, metalworks, sculptures, 20th‑century prints, Japanese and Korean ceramics, and much more.
GANESH PYNE (1937-2013), Crossing the Fountain, Lot 306, Estimate: US$300,000-500,000; South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art Sale
South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art
Auction: Wednesday, March 25, 2026 at 10am EDT (Lots 301-395)
Previews: March 20–24, 2026
This spring, Christie’s auction of South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art will take place on March 25. This season’s catalogue brings to the market several important works that have not been seen in public for several decades, celebrating the rich diversity of artistic approaches that have emerged from South Asia and its global diaspora across the 20th and 21st centuries.
Led by Tyeb Mehta’s 1977 masterpiece Gesture, the auction brings together an exceptional group of modern works, including an impressive set of paintings from the 1950s by Sayed Haider Raza, an important early painting by Maqbool Fida Husain titled Puppet Dancers, and Jehangir Sabavala’s 1959 Butterflies over Pink Blossoms and 1970 Green Thoughts in a Green Shade. These works are complemented by an extremely rare, large-format canvas by K. Ramanujam, alongside a seminal collection of early works by Ganesh Pyne, including Crossing the Fountain (1974), and striking paintings by Francis Newton Souza, Ram Kumar, K. K. Hebbar, Jagdish Swaminathan, Prabhakar Barwe, Manjit Bawa and Avinash Chandra among others.
The catalogue also features works by significant forerunners of this group, including Edwin Lord Weeks, Pestonji Bomanji, J. P. Gangooly, Jamini Roy, George Keyt and Richard Gabriel, and is rounded out by notable contemporary works by Sheila Makhijani, Jitish Kallat and Senaka Senanayake.
The live auction will be accompanied by an online sale running from March 18–April 1, 2026.
Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art
Auction: Wednesday, March 25, 2026 at 2pm EDT (Lots 501-547)
Previews: March 20–24, 2026
This season’s sale features several distinguished private American collections of Indian miniature paintings, including works from the Parson Family Collection. Highlights include a battle scene of Haldighati, signed by Choka, and a Sajnu painting of the Holy Family. Another exceptional collection of early Mughal Indian painting is led by a 16th‑century Mughal painting from the Razmnama.
The auction also includes an important 10th‑century Indian marble attendant figure, with notable provenance from the collection of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth.
A MAGNIFICENT AND RARE SANCAI-GLAZED POTTERY FIGURE OF A CAPARISONED HORSE, TANG DYNASTY (AD 618-907), 24⅛ in. (61 cm.) wide, Lot 699; Estimate: US$400,000-800,000, Important Chinese Art Sale
Important Chinese Art
Two-Day Auction:
Thursday March 26, 2026 at 9am EDT (Lots 601-732)
Friday, March 27, 2026 at 9am EDT (Lots 801-893)
Previews: March 20-25
This season, Important Chinese Art features exceptional works from distinguished American private collections, including early bronzes from the Shouyang Studio; Tang pottery and monochrome porcelains from the Max N. Berry Collections; magnificent Ming and Qing ceramics from the Stuart Collection; and three Qianlong treasures preserved by the descendants of Charles Soong.
The sale is led by a very rare and magnificent Yongzheng mark‑and‑period ‘floral bouquet’ doucai meiping, together with a Qianlong mark‑and‑period turquoise‑ground famille rose double gourd‑form triple‑necked vase. The offering also includes a superb selection of classical Chinese furniture, jades and snuff bottles, as well as exemplary Buddhist sculpture, notably a rare painted wood figure of a standing bodhisattva from the Jin dynasty (1115–1234).
Additional highlights include a magnificent Qianlong mark‑and‑period doucai ‘dragon’ moon flask, an exceptionally rare and important large copper‑red reverse‑decorated bowl from the Hongwu period (1368–1398), and a very rare 17th‑century huanghuali trestle‑leg table.
Anime Starts Here: Japanese Subculture Reimagines Tradition
Online Auction: Wednesday, March 18 – Tuesday, March 31, 2026 at 10am EDT
This season, during Asian Art Week, Christie’s presents Anime Starts Here: Japanese Subculture Reimagines Tradition, a new online auction exploring the visual dialogue between Japan’s classical artistic heritage and the subcultural movements that have shaped contemporary global culture.
The sale brings together original manga drawings by Osamu Tezuka, anime cels from Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and Doraemon, and vintage film posters of Godzilla, shown alongside traditional and contemporary works by artists such as Katsushika Hokusai and Yoshitomo Nara. Together, these works trace the enduring resonance of motifs, techniques, and narratives rooted in Japan’s past—sources that continue to inspire some of its most influential modern expressions.
Rather than positioning subculture as a departure from tradition, this carefully curated auction presents it as a dynamic evolution—one that bridges craftsmanship, storytelling, and visual innovation across generations.
South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art Online
Online Auction: Wednesday, March 18 – Wednesday, April 1, 2026 at 10am EDT
Christie’s annual South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art Online auction will take place from March 18 to 1 April 1, complementing our live sale in New York on March 25. The catalogue brings together varied artistic traditions and innovative styles developed in South Asia and its diaspora, and includes several works by emerging and established artists, with accessible estimates for both new and seasoned collectors.
This spring, our catalogue features a strong selection of works by three founders of the Progressive Artists’ Group – Maqbool Fida Husain, Francis Newton Souza and Sayed Haider Raza. Other highlights include paintings by Mohan Samant, Avinash Chandra, Sohan Qadri, Homi Patel, B. Prabha and Shanti Dave, as well as notable works on paper and prints by Zainul Abedin, Ivan Peries, Ganesh Haloi and Jogen Chowdhury, among others. These works are complemented by a selection of lots by significant contemporary artists including Jitish Kallat, Nataraj Sharma, Sheila Makhijani, Paresh Maity and Reena Saini Kallat.
Arts of Asia Online
Online Auction: March 18 – April 2, 2026 at 10am EDT
Arts of Asia Online presents a curated selection of artworks representing centuries of history and culture across Asia. The diverse offering includes ceramics, jade carvings, lacquerwares, metalwork, sculptures, prints, paintings and more. With a wide range of estimates, Arts of Asia Online offers opportunities for both burgeoning and established collectors of Asian art.
Highlights include two contemporary paintings by the acclaimed Chinese artist Liu Dan, an extensive selection of Tang-dynasty pottery and monochrome porcelains from the Max N. Berry Collections, and a varied group of prints by some of Japan’s most celebrated artists, including Katsushika Hokusai and Kawase Hasui. The sale also features exquisite Indian miniature paintings from the Parson Family Collection and the William J. Rutter Collection.
For an overview of all these auctions, click here.