|
More Collecting Asian Art |
A more recently important and valuable sub-category of “age” is “provenance.” This is the history, or lineage, of a piece. A Ming vase that can be documented as having been sold in the 1970’s at an important action, for example, would be worth many times more than an “unknown” Ming vase. A piece that has been in the J.P. Morgan collection or the Herbert Hoover porcelain collection has additional value because of its “important provenance.” Particular time periods have also become particularly collectible and valuable. Most recently is the 1950’s, the period of the Cultural Revolution when the Chinese created pieces with Communist “flavor.” For many years these pieces had very little market value in the West. As the world has changed, the Communist-inspired pieces are becoming increasingly collectible. Workmanship: Just as materials have intrinsic value, the skill of the artisan commands a premium. Measurable criteria include the appropriate and best use of the raw material. This often determines, as does the artistry involved, the success of a carving or painting. While one workman can take the finest jade and produce something that people do not find pleasing and will not want to display, another can take a mediocre material and produce a masterpiece that people will fight to own. |
|
Read more...
|
|
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. |
|
Read more...
|
|
|
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next > End >>
|
| Results 7 - 8 of 23 |