Patricia Graham's Asian Art Research & Appraising Resources

Wall Street Journal Article on Chinese Art Market

2012-01-17T12:26:00.001-06:00

The booming Chinese art market continues to make the news. See the recent Wall Street Journal article (Friday January 13, 2012), "Art's New Pecking Order."

New Publication on Later Japanese Buddhist Visual Culture

2011-11-01T21:00:00.000-05:00

“The Visual Culture of Japanese Buddhism from the Early Modern Period to the Present,” Religious Compass 5/8 (2011): 389–411, 10.1111/j.1749-8171.2011.00294x. This is an online journal available by subscription, that publishes summaries of recent research with extensive bibliographies of the topic, mainly sources in English.

Scams Abound in the Chinese Art Auction World

2011-10-10T16:11:00.003-05:00

Today, National Public Radio aired an insightful story about wide scale scamming by Chinese who sell and bid at auction for their country's art: In China's Red-Hot Market Fraud Abounds
Among the scams described are fakes selling for huge sums, auctions being used as conduits for bribes, and refusals to pay for high priced goods won at auction by bidders. I think it made some excellent points and closed with a great one: "One major issue is that Chinese auction houses are not responsible for the authenticity of the goods they sell, as long as they issue a disclaimer. But the problem is that the fakery is endemic. In all too many cases, the art is fake, the bids are rigged, the experts are crooked, and the bills are never settled. It's difficult to know what is real, aside from the corruption."

All this makes it hard to trust the validity of Chinese auction results, which I need to use as comps when doing appraisals. Therefore, I always check to see if objects similar to those I am appraising have sold at auctions in the West (which are also inundated by Chinese buyers, so that can be problematic too) and what prices are for these things in private galleries.

Another Record Chinese Sale!

2011-10-07T12:04:00.006-05:00

Sotheby's Hong Kong sale of Chinese art from the renowned Meiyingtang collection on October 5, 2011 set another record for porcelain, this time for Ming blue and white wares. A beautiful meiping shaped vase from the Yongle era sold for HK$168.7 million (US$72 million). For more on this see the Oct. 7, 2011 article at Reuters: Ming Vase Smashes Record at Mixed Chinese Sale
A related article on the current Chinese art market appeared in the Wall Street Journal today: Art Market: The China Factor

This article advised readers on what are more affordable alternatives for would-be buyers of Chinese art than those that sell for record-smashing prices. But while the article accurately notes what types of art fit into these less pricey categories, buyers still need to be wary if their intention is to buy art as an investment, which really is a gamble. There is much fine quality art available for low prices because it is not the height of fashion or whose prices are in the doldrums due to economic factors and there is no telling when the situation will change -- I am thinking especially of the situation for JAPANESE ART, and in particular, most types of screens, scrolls, lacquers, and ceramics, which are all great buys today.

October 27, 2011 Lecture in Chicago

2011-10-07T11:16:00.004-05:00

I'll be presenting a lecture to the Japan-America Society of Chicago on Thursday Oct. 27, 2011.

A VEXING PROBLEM: THE LONG TRADITION OF COPIES AND FORGERIES IN JAPANESE AND EAST ASIAN ART

6-6:30 pm REGISTRATION
6:30-7:15 pm PRESENTATION
7:15-7:30 Q and A

Masuda Funai Eifert & Mitchell, Ltd.
203 N. LaSalle Street, 25th Floor Conference Room
Chicago, IL 60603
$15 JASC Members/$20 Non-Members

The production of copies is part of the tradition of East Asian visual culture. Not all copies are fakes and many have monetary value, sometimes more than the original. Artists from Korea and Japan were often inspired by Chinese art, and Japanese artists also copied certain types of Korean arts, such as Buddhist painting. Consequently, distinguishing the original from the copy is often challenging. Understanding the different contexts in which copies were produced helps understand how to evaluate them. Emphasizing the tradition of copying in Japanese arts, this presentation also addresses copies in Chinese and Korean arts, showing how some are copied for legitimate reasons, and others for deception.

The talk draws on Graham's experience as both a scholar and appraiser of Asian art, using examples of objects she has seen and studied over the years, including Japanese secular paintings, Chinese, Korean and Japanese Buddhist painting and sculpture, Japanese prints, ceramics, cloisonné, Peking glass, jade, and netsuke. She will compare different sorts of copies and fakes, and discuss their relative values in the marketplace. Currently, the issue of forgeries is particularly pertinent and vexing because these have increased substantially in recent years, especially in China, although the use of scientific examination techniques is often used effectively to discern them.

The tricky business of recognizing fakes

2011-06-23T04:38:00.001-05:00

In a prior post on connoisseurship references for Chinese and Japanese arts, I cautioned about the prevalence of forgeries and the difficulties of recognizing them, even for experts. There I listed a number of useful reference works for specific types of arts. Now I want to point out a new effort that is based on science, a collaborative forensic research project being jointly undertaken by Cranfield University in the UK and Bonhams auction house. The online journal, ART RADAR ASIA, recently did a story on it.

Pat's New Publications, Spring 2011

2011-04-25T13:25:00.005-05:00

I have two new publication out this spring.

The first is "Craftsmanship in Japanese Arts,"
chapter 6 of: Reading Asian Art and Artifacts: Windows to Asia on American College Campuses, edited by Paul K. Nietupski and Joan O'Mara. Lehigh University Press/Rowman & Littlefield, 2011, 123-148.
In this essay, I seek to define the special character of Japanese art, examining both the way Japanese artists approach art production and the appearance of the arts in general. I focus on the high value placed on exquisite craftsmanship in various arts that results from unique cultural and religious factors which encourage patience and diligence by makers, an avid embracing of new technologies, and a penchant by artists for working together in groups.

The second publication is an article in the May 2011 issue of Orientations magazine,

“Compassion, Craft, and Connectedness: Shinji Turner-Yamamoto’s Cincinnati “Global Tree Project.”
It focuses on the artist's installation of an intertwined live and dead tree at Cincinnati's decommissioned historic Holy Cross Church, and his concurrent exhibition at the Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center.

The Booming Chinese Art Market

2011-04-25T13:08:00.016-05:00

I have been inundated lately with queries from collectors who have Chinese art they are interested in selling. No wonder, the astronomical prices Chinese art is now commanding is regularly in the news. Prices are especially high for later Chinese porcelains with imperial reign marks of the most esteemed Qing dynasty emperors (Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong). But other types of Chinese art are also doing quite well.

In fall 2010, records were set for Qianlong porcelains:
A vase sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong for US$32.4 million in October.

A vase found in an attic in the UK sold at a small London auction house, Bainbridge's, sold for £43 million or US$69.3 million (£53.1 million or US$85.9 million including the buyers' premium), in November (estimate was US$1.3~$2 million). HOWEVER, THE CHINESE BUYER REFUSED TO PAY FOR THIS! (this is not the first time this happened) So this is really a false and misleading public sales record.
UPDATE NOTE Oct. 10, 2011: some reports indicate that finally, the vase has been paid for. Such a delay is customary for Chinese culture, says the Wall Street Journal in an article Oct. 7, 2011. But a story on NPR Morning Edition on Oct. 10, 2011 indicated that the auctioneer and the seller had to go to China to collect the money, and that in May, one British newspaper reported the buyer had made a deposit on the vase of 2 million pounds, but how much of the selling price has actually been received by the auction house is unclear--no one is talking.

Then at the NY auctions in March, many lots exceeded estimates by huge amounts. These surprises included:

An apparent Republican period (early 20th century) vase that buyers obviously believe was of 18th century date, sold for $18 million (the estimate was $800-$1,200).

Another surprise was a 19th century jardiniere that sold at Doyle's for $80,000 (estimate was $5,000-$7,000)

Lastly, a fine 15th-16th century large (20") bronze statue of the Daoist deity Zhenwu, sold at Christie's for $2,210,250 (estimate was $250,000~$300,000)

How to make sense of all this? You must understand that the buyers are wealthy Chinese with deep pockets, for whom buying at auction affirms their status among their peers. Their preference for big, impressive objects associated with eminent imperial reigns affirms their ties to the pinnacle epochs of Chinese history. The fact that Chinese buyers reneg on commitments and fail to pay when winning an exorbitantly high bid for a piece at auction serves as a warning to auction houses worldwide to more carefully ascertain the intent and secure advance credit from would-be buyers.

Note though that there is one category of Chinese art these Chinese buyers will not buy -- funerary art (such as grave goods like tomb figurines) -- because they are superstitious and so shy away from art associated with death. Nevertheless, there are many forgeries of these materials on the market. Furthermore, excavated materials are not allowed to be publicly sold within China.

NEW: The Experts' Guide to Collecting

2010-12-06T08:05:00.005-06:00

The Appraisers Association of America (AAA) has recently produced a very useful small booklet (31 pages) for art collectors that anyone can purchase. I highly recommend it.

For a preview, information about the AAA, and to order the booklet, click HERE.

Appraising Methods

2010-09-06T08:50:00.004-05:00

People often ask how I arrive at valuations for their art. To determine a value I draw upon my experience over many years of looking at art similar to the types of materials I am assessing, and also knowledge of the art market for this art. These days the art market is global, thanks to the internet. So valuing art is a complicated business. Some art sells publicly, at auction, other types sell privately through dealers. My 30+ years of studying Asian art provides me with the experience to understand which markets serve as appropriate comparables to the art I am assessing.

I often start by checking the auction market, and to do this I rely on a number of internet sites, some are free, others require payment by subscriptions. I like to look at the websites for large international auction houses where Asian art is regularly sold such as Bonham's, Christie's, and Sotheby's. Also, the main auction houses in China and Japan, and regional houses in Europe and the USA.

I also rely on databases of auction sales results. But among these, I have found no single site sufficient, each seems to specialize in different types of art or includes results from somewhat different worldwide auction houses. I list three of the ones I use most often for Asian art below, but I caution readers of this blog to realize that when I look at objects on these sites, I do so with greater knowledge than you possess about your materials, and so I am more easily able than you to make judgments regarding the quality of what I see in the sites' little online pictures.

ArtFact
ArtPrice
Arcadja
Art Net

Japanese Art Organizations

2010-09-06T08:30:00.002-05:00

I'm writing to introduce two non-profit organizations devoted to the study and appreciation of Japanese art.

Anyone interested in the study and collecting of Japanese art is welcome to join. It is worth joining both, as they focus on different aspects of the Japanese art world.

JAPAN ART HISTORY FORUM (JAHF)
This organization was founded in 1997. It is affiliated with two professional societies in the United States, the College Art Association and the Association for Asian Studies. Membership is open to anyone worldwide with a serious scholarly interest in the study of Japanese art history, visual and material culture, including faculty and graduate students in art history and related fields, museum professionals, independent scholars, and serious collectors. Current membership: ca. 300 persons worldwide.

The organization's mission is to promote the study and understanding of Japanese art history, visual and material culture, by coordinating structured and informal opportunities for interchange and dialogue among members at special exhibitions and symposia of Japanese art and at other scholarly conferences in North America, and by encouraging research and dissemination of research, on our e-mail list-serve, to which members are automatically subscribed when they join our organization, and on the secure, members section of this web site.

In addition to the general information on the visitors side of the JAHF website, the much more extensive secure, password-protected, member section of the group's website contains a wealth of information of particular interest to professionals and students in our fields. Sections include information about individual members, bibliographies, course syllabi, practical professional advice, travel tips, photo acquisition sources, online reference material (including digital image databases and online exhibitions), archives of topical discussions from our email list, an organizational history where we post our annual activities, and official documents pertaining to our group.

JAPANESE ART SOCIETY OF AMERICA (JASA)
The Japanese Art Society of America promotes the study and appreciation of Japanese art. Founded in 1973 as the Ukiyo-e Society of America by collectors of Japanese prints, the Society's mission has expanded to include related fields of Japanese art. Through its annual lectures, seminars and other events, the Society provides a dynamic forum in which members can exchange ideas and experiences with experts about traditional and contemporary arts of Japan.

The Society also sponsors important exhibitions, such as Designed for Pleasure: The World of Edo Japan in Prints and Paintings, 1680–1860, shown at Asia Society in New York City, Spring 2008. The society publishes a quarterly Newsletter for members and an annual journal, Impressions, recipient of the 2009 Donald Keene Prize for the Promotion of Japanese Culture, awarded by the Donald Keene Center, Columbia University.

Global Partners for Local Organic Food Project Now Over

2010-09-05T14:24:00.002-05:00

Our project has now ended. Everyone learned a lot and we all made some new friends. Most important, the participants connected with like-minded individuals and group from across the globe. This project was of personal interest to me because it helped me understand the need for studying the cultural heritage of Japan's rural communities. Visiting Ogawamachi in Saitama prefecture, our partner site, I realized that crafts and historic preservation are being revitalized alongside the community's efforts to create a model sustainable town for Japan. I hope to return one day before long to pursue my study of the area's artistic heritage further. I offer thanks to all who made our journey possible!

New Publications -- Summer 2010

2010-09-05T10:37:00.013-05:00

I'm writing to announce two new publications.

One is an article on a little known Japanese Buddhist artist, Kano Kazunobu (1815-1863), whose magnum opus, a grand set of paintings of 500 Takan (Arhats) owned by Tokyo's Zōjōji temple, will be on display for the first time since 1945, in a special exhibition at the Edo-Tokyo Museum in Tokyo, from March 15 to May 29,2011. My article is the first on this artist in English.
"The Savior as Ascetic, Shakyamuni Undergoing Austerities by Kano Kazunobu." Register, Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, (summer 2010): 12-29.
DOWNLOAD THE ARTICLE HERE

The second publication is major revisions to the Japan chapters of the new (4th) edition of Art History by Marilyn Stokstad and Michael Cothren. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson-Prentice Hall, 2011. I contributed chapter 11: "Japan to 1333" and chapter 25: "Japan After 1333." I worked hard to try to update the chapters and present a balanced view of the main characteristics of Japanese art.

Kasuga mandala, Burke collection

New to chapter 11: new illustrations and discussion of art and architecture at the Great Buddha Hall (Daibutsuden) at Todaiji in “Recovering the Past” box. New discussion of Japan in the eighth century as the eastern terminus of the Silk Route. Increased emphasis on Japan's native religion of Shinto with addition of a Shinto painting. Expanded discussion of Chinese emigrant monks and their influence in section on Zen art.

Eri Sayoko, Dancing with the Cosmos

New to chapter 25: greater emphasis on importance of crafts with addition of porcelain plate, kosode, and contemporary lacquer box. New “Closer Look” highlights techniques used in creation of a kosode robe. Increased discussion of Japan’s integration of foreign, particularly Western, influences in its art and culture. New emphasis on architecture and crafts in the postwar period (with lacquer box by Eri Sayoko). Tea Ceremony discussion consolidated into one section.

Museums with Significant Korean Art Collections

2010-05-30T15:59:00.008-05:00

see worldwide list compiled by the Korea Foundation: http://www.clickkorea.org/arts/features/e_feature_0.asp

North America
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco (has curator; excellent recent catalogue of the collection)
Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY (has curator; excellent recent catalogue of the collection)
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Cleveland Art Museum
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto
Portland Art Museum (catalogue of this and other Portland area collections)
Brooklyn Museum (1987 catalogue of the collection)
Art Institute of Chicago
Seattle Asian Art Museum
Museum of Fine Arts Boston
Freer-Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama
Peabody-Essex Museum, Salem, MA

Europe
Musee Guimet, Paris (excellent catalogue of the collection)
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
catalogue recently written
British Museum

Korea
Suk Joo-Sun Memorial Museum of Korean Folk Arts, Dankook University
National Museum of Korea, Seoul
National Folk Museum of Korea
Kyongju National Museum
Onyang Folk Museum, Asan, S Korea
Ho-Am Art Museum, Youngin, S Korea

Japan
Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka (catalogues exist, especially of the famed Ataka collection of Koryo era celadons)
Tokyo National Museum
Old Buddhist temples throughout Japan have extensive collections of Korean Buddhist statues and paintings; catalogues exist in Korean and Japanese only)

The Diaspora of Kyoto's Buddhist Sculptors in Edo Period Japan: To Osaka, Edo, and Beyond

2010-05-19T08:51:00.002-05:00

Presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Asian Studies, April 5, 2008, on the panel: Centers/Peripheries in Medieval and Early Modern Japan

This paper examines the fate of Japan's preeminent Buddhist sculpture making workshops of Kyoto in the Edo period, whose hierarchy, patronage base, and market reach changed dramatically during this time. These developments occurred due to political and social changes instigated by the Tokugawa shogunate. Kyoto workshops specialized in the production of religious images, whose manufacture required high levels of technical skill that fostered the development of guild-like lineages. At their apex was the Seventh Avenue Atelier, which for centuries garnered commissions in the Kansai region from the highest echelons of the court and samurai and the important temples they supported.

Following Tokugawa Ieyasu's establishment of Edo as his capital, the Seventh Avenue Atelier began to produce imagery for Tokugawa temples there. By the late 17th century, the shogunate fortunes had declined so significantly that work dwindled. Many sculptors left this prestigious workshop to found new ateliers serving different groups of patrons, both commoners and daimyo, in Edo, Osaka, and elsewhere. Although scholars have long dismissed Kyoto's Edo period Buddhist sculpture as derivative, my paper refutes this bias using case studies that draw on recent research into the holdings of provincial temples in Takamatsu City and Aomori Prefecture. The permeation of the work of Kyoto Buddhist sculptors into the nation's periphery reflects their resilience and creativity. It also reveals changing patterns of wealth distribution and the desire of nationwide patrons of Buddhism to increase their cultural status through association with art styles of the imperial capital.

Buddhist-Inspired Spirituality in Contemporary Japanese Art

2010-05-19T08:44:00.004-05:00

Paper Presented at the Annual Midwest Art History Society Conference in Kansas City, April 2, 2009, on the panel:

THE SPIRITUAL IN CONTEMPORARY ART: 1980S TO THE PRESENT

This talk addresses a subject absent from discussions about contemporary Japanese art amid the mania for contemporary Japanese artists inspired by pop art forms of anime and manga: the power of Buddhist spirituality to inspire artists both within and apart from Buddhist organizations. The existence of these artists refutes widespread misconceptions about the faith's intellectual demise in Japan today, stemming largely from Buddhism's lack of clear visual identity and the alienation of many of its followers from its institutions. My talk presents case studies of three contemporary Japanese artists inspired by Buddhist spirituality in very different ways. Only one, Mukoyoshi Yuboku (born 1961) is formally acknowledged as a Buddhist artist because he mainly creates icons, although his recent collaboration with American artist Charles Ray reveals his openness to new modes of spiritual expression. One of the others, Turner-Yamamoto Shinji (born 1965) lives in the USA, but creates site-specific art installations worldwide using found organic materials to express his search for universal connections between humankind and nature. The third, Mukaiyama Kisho (born 1968), created his own hybrid painting/sculpture medium to give visual form to the diffuse colors of light he envisions in his prayers to the Buddha worlds of the esoteric Shingon sect. In examining the relationship between personal religious practice and artistic inspiration, this talk aims to refute assertions that faith-based spirituality is restrictive rather than conducive to artistic creativity. It also shows how artists can use unorthodox visual expressions of faith to express universal spiritual values that appeal to diverse audiences.

Eri Sayoko and Nakamura Kokei: Transforming the Art of Ancient Japanese Buddhist Painting into a Modern Art-Craft

2010-05-19T08:27:00.014-05:00

Paper presented at the conference: Places at the Table: Asian Women Artists and Gender Dynamics, University of California, Berkeley, September 13, 2008

Kirikane, the graphic technique consisting of luminous, minute patterns in cut-gold leaf, often applied in conjunction with mineral colors, is a distinguishing feature of many of the finest Japanese Buddhist paintings and sculpture. This technically challenging art dates back to the seventh century C.E, when it was introduced from

China

. How two talented and dedicated women – Eri Sayoko (1945-2007) and Nakamura Keiboku (active professionally since 1980) – have been working to preserve and revitalize this tradition in

Japan

today is the subject of this talk. Their achievements are significant because the art form in which they specialize was formerly dominated by men. Their ability to achieve success in this art hints at monumental changes to Japanese society in the post World War II era. Most well-known contemporary Japanese women artists work in non-traditional art forms and seek international recognition. But, as these two women reveal, women have also made inroads and assumed leadership roles in endangered, conservative craft traditions such as kirikane, from which they were formerly, publicly excluded. Tragically, Eri Sayoko passed away suddenly last year at the peak of her career, five years after being designated as a Living National Treasure.

Discussion of contemporary Japanese women artists rarely mentions women like Eri and Nakamura because of the structure of artists' organizations in Japan. Although old Japanese Buddhist paintings are considered fine art, the work of makers of Buddhist sculpture and painting today are designated by the Japanese art establishment as "art crafts" (bijutsu kōgei). As such, artists who specialize in these art forms gain recognition for showing their work in domestic craft, rather than fine art, exhibitions. Rarely are these arts shown abroad. Furthermore, both Nakamura and Eri work closely together with their husbands (Mukoyoshi Yuboku and Eri Kokei respectively), both Buddhist sculptors, in their own small ateliers (of the sort traditionally headed by men), to create imagery for use by Buddhist institutions and their lay followers as sacred religious icons.

Yet Eri and Nakamura have themselves been quietly working to reinvigorate this conservative Buddhist painting tradition through their deep study and original conceptualizations of kirikane and Buddhist painting. Eri applied inventive variants of traditional Buddhist kirikane patterns on elegant, secular functional objects that harmonized with modern aesthetic sensibilities, including screens, wall hangings, and small boxes. Her original designs were highly acclaimed. Nakamura is now engaged in an approximately four year project to create a replica of a set of two large, rare, thirteenth century mandala paintings long ago removed from their home temple, which has requested the copy. Collaborating with religious studies scholars, temple priests, and conservators, she is recreating the original appearance of the much-damaged original through meticulous study of historical design motifs and technical analysis of pigments. Her completed mandala and the data she gathered to create it will prove an invaluable source for the understanding of the original appearance of the colors and designs on early Buddhist painting. The work of these two artists reveals a rarely addressed aspect of the contemporary Japanese art scene, namely that following a conservative artistic tradition can foster artistic creativity, offering both a window into the past and a path towards a future that still embraces tradition.

Devotional Icons as Spectacle: Buddha Buildings in Modern and Contemporary Japan

2010-05-19T08:20:00.003-05:00

Presented at: the annual meeting of the Midwest Art History Society
Omaha, NE, April 9, 2010
on the panel: MONUMENTALITY IN MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY ASIAN ART AND ARCHITECTURE

My recent book, Faith and Power in Japanese Buddhist Art, 1600-2005, highlighted a wide body of Buddhist icons and structures neglected by most art historians who only consider Buddhist materials of much earlier eras as worthy of study and the core of Japan's traditional artistic canon. This paper considers one of the most ubiquitous types of recent Buddhist icons in Japan, monumental Buddhist statuary, that are universally derided by scholars as Japanese kitsch and not worthy of consideration. My paper charts the history of these large Buddha-buildings and argues for why they should be taken more seriously. Makers of giant statues in the modern period have become increasingly preoccupied with testing the limits of new technologies to create images of unprecedented height and many of these can be entered. Disregard of them, and virtually all of Japan's formal Buddhist art, on the part of scholars has occurred for a number of reason. First, when the Japanese artistic canon was created in the late 19th century, scholars focused on ancient and medieval Buddhist statuary because of its association with Japan's elite rulers—courtiers and powerful samurai --who demonstrated to the world that Japan possessed an elite culture like that of the European nations with whom they sought parity. As they strove to position modern Japan as superior to the backward culture of the nation's immediate past, where Buddhism and its art featured prominently, these men also disregarded modern Buddhist art because it did not emphasize Western concepts that valued originality and individual artistic creativity but instead stressed adherence to strict iconographic models to assure religious efficacy. Also, they and later scholars have ignored modern Japanese Buddhist art because of their widespread disdain for the formal practice of Buddhism in modern and contemporary Japan, considered no more than a business that makes money from masses of devotees who fork out large sums for funerary services for loved ones. Finally, because these new monuments incorporate new technology and contemporary religious values which to some seem more like entertainment than solemn devotional rituals, their cultural authenticity and religiosity are questioned. I believe this is a mistake, that these monuments deserve greater recognition—not only as technological achievements but as reflections of new ways practitioners engage with their faith. They are potent symbols of a modern, transnational Buddhist art.

Information Needed for Initial Consultation

2010-05-19T07:58:00.010-05:00

If you have found me through my website and wish for me to assess your art, please tell me the following in your initial contact with me:

1. your full name and where you live

2. the reason you want your art assessed (do you want to sell it, are you curious about what it is, do you need an insurance or estate appraisal, etc)

3. the type of art you have and the number of pieces

4. where you acquired the art

5. If you want me to assess your art from photos, please inform me about the type and quality of the photos you have.
PLEASE DO NOT SEND LARGE JPG ATTACHMENTS WITH YOUR INITIAL EMAIL QUERIES.

Thank you!

Chinese Decorative Arts References

2009-11-20T14:23:00.019-06:00

Because I get so many questions about later Chinese decorative arts I have prepared this short list of references to help interested persons begin to do some research on the subject themselves.

Recommended Bookseller for titles listed below:
Paragon Book Gallery, Chicago

Some Useful Websites:

Victoria and Albert Museum, London, has extensive bibliographies online.

Understanding China website--features bibliographies and resources for the study of Chinese art and culture.

Two sites for Chinese porcelains every collector should know:
Antique Chinese and Japanese Porcelain Collector's Help and Info Page

Chinese Porcelain of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the private collection of JP O'Brien, with much useful info on forgeries

References and Suggested Readings for Chinese Decorative Arts:
Arts of Asia. Hong Kong: Arts of Asia Publications, bimonthly journal.

Ayers, John. Chinese Ceramics: the Baur Collections (4 vols.). Genève, Collections Baur,1972-1974.

Brown, Claudia and Donald Rabiner. The Robert H. Clague Collection: Chinese Glass of the Qing Dynasty, 1644-1911. Phoenix: Phoenix Art Museum, 1987.

Brown, Claudia and Donald Rabiner. Clear as Crystal, Red as Flame: Later Chinese Glass. New York: China House Gallery, 1990.

Chinese University of Hong Kong, ed. Elegance and Radiance: Grandeur in Qing Glass. Hong Kong, 2000.

Clunas, Craig. Art in China. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.

Clunas, Craig. Chinese Carving. London, Victoria & Albert Museum, 1996.

Clunas, Craig, ed. Chinese Export Art and Design. London, Victoria &Albert Museum, l987.

Eberhard, Wolfram. A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols: Hidden Symbols in Chinese Life and Thought. New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1986.

He, Li. Chinese Ceramics: A New Comprehensive Survey from the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. New York: Rizzoli, 1996.

Hutt, Julia. Understanding Far Eastern Art: A Complete Guide to the Arts of China, Japan and Korea: Ceramics, Sculpture, Painting, Prints, Lacquer, Textiles and Metalwork. Oxford: Phaidon, 1987 (especially useful for non-specialists)

Kerr, Rose, ed. Chinese Art and Design - the T.T. Tsui Gallery of Chinese Art. London, Victoria &Albert Museum, 1991.

Kerr, Rose. Chinese Ceramics: Porcelain of the Qing Dynasty. London, Victoria & Albert Museum, 1986.

Orientations. Hong Kong: Pacific Communications, monthly journal.

Rawson, Jessica, ed. The British Museum Book of Chinese Art. London, British Museum Press, 1992.

Rawson, Jessica. Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing. London, 1995.

Wilson, Ming. Chinese Jades. London: Victoria and Albert Museum Publications, 2004.

North American Museums with Significant Chinese and Japanese Art Collections

2009-11-20T14:01:00.017-06:00

Regional antique stores and estate sales are often full of Asian antiques, especially later Chinese and Japanese decorative arts made for export in the later 19th and early 20th century but their quality varies considerably. The best way to learn to identify quality is to see fine pieces in person. This list contains names of many, but not all, North American museums that collect and regularly display Asian arts. The largest and most comprehensive are marked with an astirisk (*)

*Art Institute of Chicago

*Asia Society, NY (Rockefeller collection & special loan exhibitions)

*Asian Art Museum of San Francisco

Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, AL

Brooklyn Museum of Art

China Institute Gallery, NY (traveling exhibitions only, no permanent collection)

Cincinnati Museum of Art

*Clark Center for Japanese Art and Culture, Hanford, CA

*Cleveland Museum of Art

*Denver Art Museum

*Honolulu Academy of Arts

*Japan Society Gallery, NY (traveling exhibitions only, no permanent collection)

Herbert F. Johnson Art Museum, Cornell University

*Los Angeles County Museum of Art

*Minneapolis Institute of Arts

*Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens, Delray Beach, FL

*Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

*Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City

New Orleans Museum of Art

*Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, CA

*Philadelphia Museum of Art

Phoenix Art Museum

Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR

Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto

*Arthur M. Sackler Museum for Asian Art, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

Saint Louis Art Museum

Santa Barbara Museum of Art

*Seattle Asian Art Museum

*Smithsonian Institution Freer and Sackler Galleries, Washington, D.C.

Trammel & Margaret Crow Collection of Asian Art, Dallas

University of Michigan Museum of Art

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond

Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore

GLOBAL PARTNERS FOR LOCAL ORGANIC FOODS - Website Now Live

2009-04-19T07:59:00.005-05:00

Please check our our project's new website and contribute comments to our blog!
www.gplof.org
The website is bi-lingual, to reflect the collaborative nature of our project. We're just getting started and will be periodically updating our Resources, Events , Photos, and Projects pages, so visit often.

Written Appraisal Standards

2009-02-24T09:30:00.024-06:00

Many people think preparation of appraisal reports is a simple matter of the appraiser stating in writing what they think their properties are worth. But I do not do those sorts of overly simplistic appraisals. All my written appraisals conform with standards established by USPAP (Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice), promulgated by The Appraisal Foundation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of professional valuation, which has been authorized by The US Congress as the source of appraisal standards and appraiser qualifications. Although preparation of USPAP compliant appraisal reports are quite complex and time consuming to produce, this diligent preparation is necessary because the resulting reports serve as legal documents that protect both the client and appraiser, and as such need to carefully explain the reasoning behind the stated valuations and attest to the competence of the appraiser to undertake such assessments. These stringent standards and guidelines are described on the website of the Appraisers Association of America, which, with good reason, requires all their members to use them.

Although I also do other types of appraisals, I am most frequently asked to complete appraisal reports for insurance, charitable institution donations, and estate settlements. Each has different requirements for written reports, which I describe in general terms below.

INSURANCE APPRAISALS
*header/footer on every page with: client name, appraiser name & contact info, appraisal purpose, valuation system used, effective date, pagination (include # of photos)
*cover page
*table of contents
*valuation summary
*disclaimers, limiting conditions, assumptions (authenticity), hypothetical & extraordinary assumptions
*appraiser's certification (include compliance with USPAP, fee structure)
*appraiser's CV & qualifications for appraising the type of art in the report
*client name
*scope of work
*purpose of appraisal: insurance
*type of report (self contained, summary, or restricted use)
*intended users (client & insurance co)
*valuation type: Retail Replacement Value
*definition of value & source
*market approach: comparative (state why used)
*marketplace: retail
*market analysis
*date & place of inspection
*effective date (same)
*date of report
*inventory of objects noting locations (if appropriate)
*description of objects, noting when Fine Art Breakable, Sterling Silver, Fine Art, nationality, artist, type of art, date, size, relevant inscription & marks, boxes -for Asian objects & scrolls-, material, technique, condition, prior publications, artists' bio, relevant references
*provenance (optional but useful)
*discuss authenticity if relevant
*include comparables (optional): if under $100 each--group together, $5000 & above--comps preferred, groups over $10,000--comps preferred
*Firm Valuation for each object
*photographs
*SIGNATURE

IRS DONATION APPRAISALS
*Need appraisal for donations over $5000, over $50,000 IRS art committee reviews appraisal report, over $500—taxpayer must submit IRS form 8283 (no appraisal needed)
*note: client can deduct cost of appraisal fees from income

*header/footer with: client name, appraiser name & contact info, appraisal purpose, valuation system used, effective date, pagination (include # of photos)
*cover page
*table of contents
*valuation summary
*disclaimers, limiting conditions, assumptions (authenticity), hypothetical & extraordinary assumptions
*appraiser's certification (include compliance w/USPAP, fee structure, disinterest, acknowledgment that misrepresentation will incur penalties, & appraiser not disqualified by IRS)
*appraiser's CV & qualifications for appraising the type of art in the report
*client name
*scope of work
*purpose of appraisal: donation
*type of report: self contained
*intended users (generally client & accountant & donor organization)
*valuation type: Fair Market Value
*definition of value & source
*market approach: comparative market analysis (state why used)
*marketplace: auction and/or retail
*market analysis
*date & place of inspection
*effective date: date of donation
*donee organization (if known) and appropriateness of object to that organization
*date of report (cannot be more than 60 days prior to donation)
*object list
*inventory & description of objects (noting nationality, artist, type of art, date, size, relevant inscriptions & marks, boxes -for Asian objects & scrolls-, medium, format, technique, condition
*artist bio, references, other notes
*provenance & price paid
*discuss authenticity if relevant
*Firm Valuation for each object
*photographs
*ownership interest
*COMPARABLES REQUIRED with discussion for: single items & groups over $5000
*SIGNATURE & Tax ID#
*Completion of appraiser's section of IRS form 8283

IRS ESTATE APPRAISALS
*single items over $3000 appraisal required; group of like items over $10,000 appraisal required, over $20,000 IRS art committee reviews appraisal report
*note: client can deduct cost of appraisal fees from income

*header/footer on every page with: client name, appraiser's name & contact info, appraisal purpose, valuation system used, effective date, pagination (include # of photos)
*Cover page
*table of contents
*valuation summary
*limiting conditions, disclaimers, assumptions (authenticity), hypothetical & extraordinary assumptions
*appraiser's certification (include compliance with USPAP, fee structure, disinterest, acknowledgment that misrepresentation will result in penalties, & appraiser not disqualified by IRS)
*Appraiser's CV & qualifications for appraising the type of art in the report
*client name
*scope of work
*purpose of appraisal: estate valuation
*type of report: self contained
*intended users (generally client, accountant, estate executor)
*valuation type: Fair Market Value (if using auction results, include buyer's premium but list it separately because this is deductible by the estate as an administrative expense)
*definition of value & source
*market approach: comparative market analysis (state why used)
*marketplace: generally auction
*effective date: date of death or 6 months later
*date & place of inspection
*report date
*market analysis
*Inventory & description of objects (noting nationality, artist, object type, medium, format, technique, date, size, relevant inscriptions & marks, boxes-for Asian paintings and object-, ownership interest
*references, artist bio, other notes
*provenance & price paid
*discuss authenticity if relevant
*COMPARABLES REQUIRED with discussion for: single items over $3000, groups of like items over $10,000
*photographs (mandatory for over $20,000)
*Firm Valuation for each object *SIGNATURE &Tax ID#
*Completion of appraiser's section of IRS form 8283

Connoisseurship of Chinese & Japanese Art--Selected References

2009-02-16T19:44:00.039-06:00

Copies and forgeries abound in Chinese and Japanese arts and indeed, they have been made since premodern times. The problem has gotten worse in recent years as forgers have begun to make use of sophisticated technical production means. Collectors would be wise to familiarize themselves with some of the thorny issues about forgeries, and at the same time learn that in the context of Chinese and Japanese art, not all copies have been created as fakes.

Recommended Bookseller for titles listed below:
Paragon Book Gallery, Chicago

ASIAN ART GENERAL
Linda, Mary F. ed. The Real, the Fake, and the Masterpiece. New York: Asia Society, 1988. Catalogue of an exhibition, with thematic essays.

CHINESE ART
Allen, Anthony J., a Chinese art dealer in Auckland, New Zealand, has self-published the following:
Allen’s Authentication of Ancient Chinese Ceramics, 2006.
Allen’s Authentication of Ancient Chinese Bronzes, 2001.
Allen’s Authentication of Later Chinese Porcelain 1796AD – 1999AD, 2000.
Allen’s Introduction to Later Chinese Porcelain, 1996.

Chang, Arnold. "'The Small Manifested in the Large: The Large Manifested in the Small: the Connoisseurship of Chinese Painting." Kaikodo Journal 12 (Autumn 1999): 43-54.

Chang, Qing. "Genuine or Forged: Methods of Identifying Forgeries of Chinese Buddhist Sculptures," Ars Orientalis 36 (2009): pp. 79-109.

Clunas, Craig. "Connoisseurs and aficionados: the real and the fake in Ming China (1368-1644)," in Why Fakes Matter: Essays on Problems of Authenticity, edited by Mark Jones. London: British Museum Press, 1992, pp. 151-156.

Fu, Marilyn and Shen Fu. Studies in Connoisseurship: Chinese Paintings from the Arthur M. Sackler Collection in New York and Princeton. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1973.

van Gulik, Robert Hans. Chinese Pictorial Art as Viewed by the Connoisseur. Istituto italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente, 1958 (rare but authoritative)

Kerr, Rose and Jon Ayers. Blanc de Chine: Porcelain from Dehua. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2002.

Page, Amy. "Spotting Fake Chinese Bronzes." Art & Antiques 2/2 (Feb. 18, 2002).

Stuart, Jan. Worshiping the Ancestors: Chinese Commemorative Portraits. Washington, D.C.: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 2001.

Stuart, Jan and Chang Qing. "Chinese Buddhist Sculpture in a New Light at the Freer Gallery of Art," Orientations April 2002: pp. 29-37.

Wilson, Ming. Chinese Jades. London: Victoria and Albert Museum Publications, 2004.

JAPANESE ART
"Chinese Forgers Take Aim at Japanese Market." Taipei Times, April 4, 2009. Regarding Chinese copies of Japanese netsuke. Available online at: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2009/04/04/2003440165

Clark, Timothy. Ukiyo-e Paintings in the British Museum. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1992. See especially section on forgeries in the chapter: "The Study, Collecting, and Forging of Ukiyo-e Paintings," pp. 36-46 and the appendix on fakes, pp. 233-240 (with illustrations).

Cox, Rupert, ed. The Culture of Copying in Japan: Critical and Historical Perspectives. London: Routledge, 2008.

Graham, Patricia J. Faith and Power in Japanese Buddhist Art, 1600-2005. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2007. Chap. 8 discusses forgeries of Buddhist painting and sculpture.

Graham, Patricia J. Tea of the Sages: The Art of Sencha. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1998. Discusses Japanese copies of Chinese ceramic wares, basketry, and metalwork.

Nisemono, honmono, kobijutsu kantei (Forgeries or originals, judgment on antiques). Taiyō (The Sun, monthly magazine), special issue #190 (February 1979). In Japanese only.

Uhlenbeck, Chris. "Collecting Ukiyo-e Prints: Issues of Quality, Condition, Rarity," in The Hotei Encyclopedia of Japanese Woodblock Prints, edited by Amy Reigle Newland. Amsterdam: Hotei Publishing, 2005, pp. 366-376.

Wilson, Richard L. The Potter's Brush: The Kenzan Style in Japanese Ceramics. Washington, D.C.: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, 2001.
Extensively illustrates and discusses issues of authenticity of ceramics by Kenzan.

USEFUL WEBSITES
Schneider Japanese Cloisonne, the personal website of Fredric Schneider, a passionate collector of cloisonne and author of an authoritive volume on the subject.

James Cahill.info. The website of James Cahill, the renowned emeritus professor of Chinese painting at the University of California, Berkeley. His posts include an article and musings about the nefarious forger Chang Dai-chien.

Gotheborg.com. An excellent database of Chinese and Japanese ceramics, with marks.

Viewing Japanese Prints. On issues of authenticity in Japanese prints (editions, Meiji recuts, deceptive copies, imitations), see specific sections of the FAQ and TOPICS page of the web site

Watanabe Publisher Seals. For examples of seals for modern Japanese prints published by Watanabe Shōzaburō

Explanation of tests & equipment for dating of artifacts:
Smithsonian Institution
Getty Conservation Institute

NY Appraisers Association of America lecture on Copies and Forgeries in Chinese and Japanese Art

2009-02-09T09:27:00.008-06:00

New York, NY, October 6, 2008, 6PM
Chinese and Japanese Arts: Antique or Not, Authentic or Fake?
Lecture sponsored by the Appraisers Association of America at the National Arts Club, 15 Gramercy Park South, New York City (20th Street between Irving Place and Park Avenue South). Lecture from 6:00p.m. to 7:00p.m. Receptions follow lectures from 7:00p.m. to 8:00p.m. Jacket and tie required. For reservations call 212.889.5404 ext. 11. AAA/ISA/ASA Members free; General Admission $15

Lecture description: The production of copies is part of the tradition of East Asian visual culture. Not all copies are fakes and many have monetary value, sometimes more than the original. Understanding the different contexts in which copies were produced helps understand how to evaluate them. This presentation introduces the wide variety of Chinese and Japanese arts that are commonly copied, showing how some are copied for legitimate reasons, and others for deception. I draw on my experience as both a scholar and appraiser of Asian art, using examples of objects I have seen and studied over the years. Discussion will focus on some of the most popular types of Chinese and Japanese arts collected in the USA since the late 19th century, including secular paintings, Buddhist painting and sculpture, Japanese prints, ceramics, cloisonné, Peking glass, jade, and netsuke, and show comparisons of real and fake examples. Currently, the issue of forgeries is particularly pertinent and vexing because these have increased substantially and become more difficult to discern in recent years, due to technological advances.

Public Presentation--Global Partners for Local Organic Foods: A US-Japan Exchange Project in Kansas & Saitama

2009-02-09T09:01:00.014-06:00

Tuesday, March 24, 4 PM, Pine Room, Kansas Union, University of Kansas:
Presentation in the Tea & Talk Series sponsored by the University of Kansas Center for East Asian Studies. Local members of the Global Partners for Local Organic Foods project, including Pat, will discuss the genesis of the partnership and projected outcomes.

Global Partners for Local Organic Foods --- A US-Japan Exchange Project in Kansas & Saitama

2008-09-04T11:27:00.016-05:00

I am delighted to announce that a grant I conceived and wrote for the Kansas Rural Center of Whiting, Kansas was approved in September 2008. The grant will help increase consumption of locally-produced organic foods in Douglas County, Kansas, and in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, through ideas generated during dialogues between farmers, NGOs, and policy makers in both places. We will hold public programs during reciprocal fact-finding visits. A web site will publicize our events and track projects we develop.

PROJECT NEWS RELEASE

KRC announces funding for: NURTURING COMMUNITIES THROUGH LOCAL FOODS NETWORKS

Lawrence, Kansas— The Kansas Rural Center is pleased to announce a funding award from the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership (JFCGP) of New York and Tokyo for a project entitled NURTURING COMMUNITIES THROUGH LOCAL FOODS NETWORKS.

The project seeks to develop innovative responses to problems in modern food systems through cross-cultural dialogues between farmers, NGOs, and policy makers in two agricultural heartlands: the Kansas River Valley, centered in Douglas County, Kansas, and Saitama Prefecture in Japan (northwest of Tokyo). Facilitating the project in Japan is IFOAM Japan (Association of International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements members in Japan).

The twenty-member team, half Japanese, half American, brings together a diverse group of men and women at various stages in their careers and involved in various capacities in promoting organic food systems. On each side, a number of NGOs, government agencies, and universities are participating in the project. In Kansas cooperating institutions include: Kansas State University; the University of Kansas; Kansas Organic Producers; The Community Mercantile Education Foundation; The Kansas City Center for Urban Agriculture; Van Go Mobile Arts and Jobs in the Art Make Sense (JAMS), and Rolling Prairie Farmers Alliance.

The project begins in late spring 2009 with reciprocal fact-finding visits between the team members, during which time public programs in Lawrence, KS and Saitama, Japan, will introduce our project and its goals to local residents. Following the visits each team will gather to strategize and develop pilot projects to spread interest in organic, locally produced foods in their respective communities. An interactive web site publicizes events and tracks the progress of the projects developed in informational pages, blogs and pictures.

The project emerges from our desire to act on scholarly studies about both Kansas and Japan by economists and social scientists, who have been pondering the possibility of agriculture disappearing in these places, evidenced by the decline of rural communities, the low rate of food self sufficiency, and other dire statistics. The goal of the project is to shed light on common problems, but more importantly suggest solutions applicable not only to these areas but others in the developed world. In particular, the group explores ways to further interest in smaller-scale, organic farming and the establishment of personal relationships between food producers and consumers. The grant will allow the two groups to strategize together, share successful ideas, and think in a global context about local issues.

The project co-directors are Patricia Graham, Research Associate, Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas (pgraham@ku.edu) and Dan Nagengast, director of the Kansas Rural Center (nagengast@earthlink.net) for the American side. Japan side coordinators are Satoko Miyoshi, of IFOAM Japan, Chizuko Sato, a volunteer with JFS (Japan for Sustainability), and Takao Shibata, the former Consul-General of Japan for Kansas City.

The Kansas Rural Center (KRC) is an NGO whose mission is the promotion of sustainable agriculture and a strong, viable rural culture. It supports organic growers in Kansas and others pursuing sustainable farming practices, such as grass-fed beef.
For more information on the KRC , see: http://www.kansasruralcenter.org/
or contact Dan Nagengast, Executive Director
nagengast@earthlink.net tel/fax: 785-748-0959

For further information on this project, contact Patricia Graham at 785-841-1477 or email her at pgraham@ku.edu

Lecture in Naples, FL on Obaku Monks and their Artistic Legacy

2008-09-04T11:25:00.020-05:00

Florida Gulf Coast University, Renaissance Academy, Chinese Art and Culture Study Group, 10 AM to Noon

Chinese Chan Monks in Edo Period Japan: The Ôbaku Zen Sect and Its Artistic Legacy.

Lecture for the Chinese Study Group at the Renaissance Academy Florida Gulf Coast University.

Lecture description: The Ôbaku Zen sect in Japan, founded by emigrant Chinese Chan monks in the mid-seventeenth century, had a remarkably broad appeal. Its dignified, charismatic, and learned monks converted large numbers of followers of diverse social status and deeply impacted Japanese religious and artistic traditions. The dramatic images of Buddhist saints, created by Chinese Buddhist sculptors who emigrated to Japan with the monks, enabled Ôbaku monks to spread devotion to those heroic personages from the Buddhist pantheon to followers of other sects. The Chinese appearance of their temple buildings were a novelty in Japan that helped their temples attract numerous visitors. But beyond that and the persuasiveness of their religious doctrine, Japanese flocked to Ôbaku temples because they functioned as repositories of knowledge concerning broader aspects of Chinese intellectual culture at a time when overseas travel by Japanese citizens was forbidden. Ôbaku monks were well-educated intelligentsia, literati, and as such were authorities on classical Chinese literature, philosophy, painting, and calligraphy traditions, that they transmitted to Japanese followers. The monks' participation in literati activities became a conduit for introducing Japanese admirers to literati lifestyles, which revolved around the drinking of steeped tea. This custom spread throughout Japan as the sencha (steeped tea) ceremony, which for a time surpassed the traditional chanoyu tea ceremony in popularity.