Beginning collectors the following formula for roughly determining the value of an art object:

Value = Materials + Age + Workmanship.

What this means and how you apply it could mean the difference between acquiring a collection that is merely pretty and one that has investment potential, or will be a much-appreciated inheritance.

Materials:

The beauty and scarcity of the raw materials used in a piece, along with other factors such as hardness and durability (or lack of it), add up to what we may call intrinsic value. Simply put that is the value of the raw material itself, separate from the quality of the carving or its historical significance or any of the other factors that add to the desirability of the piece. Determining intrinsic value requires some understanding of the relative value the raw material carried during the time period the artisan was working it.

Jade and ivory, for instance, have had value since very early in the Asian cultures. Certain kinds of woods, the roots of particular trees, the burl of the root and other organic substances such as amber, also have found their way into some of the best representations of Asian art. With the exception of bronze and a limited number of cast materials, most of the materials used in Asian art could be found naturally or traded. When altered in some way, by carving or firing, and turned into art, they became valuable.