TIPS FOR NOVICE COLLECTORS

I am always getting emails from people who buy art cheaply and then want to know what it is worth. If you want to be serious about collecting fine Asian art, here are some useful tips: 

1. Buy what you like not what you think will appreciate in value.
 
2. Buy from reputable dealers--avoid eBay, where dealers and collectors sell off their second-rate art or fakes. Also avoid estate and rummage sales, unless you really know what you are looking at.
 
 3. No matter what dealer you buy from, do not take their word on identification and dating; ask for documentation, do research yourself, and consult unbiased experts (museum curators, scholars, knowledgeable appraisers)

4. Buy the best type of art you can get for the money you have to spend. If, for example, you only have $5,000 to spend, buy the best art you can get for that amount of money. Do not get a work of art by a particular artist or a  type of art just to have something of that type of art in your collection if all you can afford is a mediocre piece.  
 
5. Trade up--if you find a piece better than one you already have in your collection, get that and sell (or donate to a museum) the one of lesser importance. 

6. Unless you know that it can be repaired easily, do not buy art in poor condition, unless you really know what you are buying is rare and can be properly restored by trained conservators. This is especially true for Japanese prints, scrolls, and screens.

YET ANOTHER CHINESE ART SCAM REVEALED

This insightful article from Forbes sums up the situation at China's auction houses well, with special mention of the largest auction house, Poly Auctions. CHINA'S $13 BILLION DOLLAR ART FRAUD -- AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU.

Rare 17th Century Japanese Export Lacquer Chest sold to Rijksmuseum for 7.3 Million Euros

A very important export lacquer chest, a companion piece to one owned by the Victoria and Albert Museum, known as the Mazarin Chest, has re-appeared in France after having been 'lost' since 1941 when it was auctioned in Wales. It was acquired at auction in France this week by Amsterdam's famed Rijksmuseum for 7.3 MILLION EUROS.

Information on the V&A Museum Mazarin Chest

Art Daily article on the recent sale

7.3 million euros by Amsterdam's famed Rijksmuseum.

More Information: http://artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=63152#.UbsZmpx7yg1[/url]
Copyright © artdaily.org

7.3 million euros by Amsterdam's famed Rijksmuseum.

More Information: http://artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=63152#.UbsZmpx7yg1[/url]
Copyright © artdaily.org

Chinese Art Frauds Continue

I have not posted anything on the Chinese art market for awhile but now I feel compelled to warn readers of this blog about how cunningly potential buyers in the Chinese art market get deceived. Not only are pieces skillfully being copied, so are their associated documents, which is nothing new, but a recent case in point makes this abundantly clear. Boston Globe story: Vase that drew $1.7m bid also drawing federal scrutiny

Supposed Qianlong gourd vase

Base when sold at Altair for $1.7 million

Base when sold at Jackson's for $3840

Chinese Contemporary Art Market Slips

According to an Oct. 9, 2012 Art Radar Asia article, "Ashen Faces, groans as Chinese art bombs -- Sotheby's Autumn 2012 Contemporary Asian Art auction," contemporary Chinese art sales have seriously slumped while the market remains strong for premodern Chinese arts. The article also  references several recent article elsewhere about the frauds rampant at Chinese art auctions in Mainland China and the increasing number of fakes of contemporary Chinese arts.

See the following articles on related topics:
Forbes article from 8/13/2012, "China's $13 Billion Art Fraud."
The Art Newspaper article from 7/18/2012, "Chinese art funds on risky road to maturity."

Lecture in NY September 12, 2012

Alledged Undervaluing of Contemporary Chinese Art Imported to China

On July 16, 2012, the NY Times reported that a German art handler and a Chinese associate were detained on charges that they undervalued imported art to avoid customs duties. The article states that "[t]he detentions have put a spotlight on the mercurial Chinese legal system and raised questions among collectors and industry executives about the potential pitfalls of China’s fast-growing art and antiques market, which last year surpassed the United States to become the world’s largest, according to the European Fine Art Foundation. The crackdown, industry professionals have warned, could dissuade Chinese collectors from bringing home art purchased abroad." The article then adds that "legal experts said that art handling firms simply work with the values provided by their clients, but that Chinese law is murky on whether individuals employed by shipping companies can be held liable for undervaluing a work...in China imported art is often levied with duties that can reach 35 percent of an object’s value. Many industry veterans complain of a customs process that is notoriously onerous....and "[a] number of art professionals, speaking on the condition of anonymity out of fear of drawing unwanted attention from the authorities, have suggested that the government may simply be trying to remove the competition as it prepares to enter the lucrative art-handling business. Read the full article HERE.