IN a time when investment portfolios are being demolished so the notion adding to the pain by loosing money on the Picasso or other fine objects as well is unthinkable! Guess what? Nothing is immune to the market. Especially something as irrelevant to most of the world as art, yes I said irrelevant and I am in the business and have been for 30 years.

Not to worry though! This is a cyclical situation that all the auction firms go through every ten or fifteen years. Large auctions houses i.e. Sotheby’s and Christies who each sell 6 billion dollars a year each in fine art as well as much smaller regional firms like as Skinners Boston get a reality check from the REAL economy and sets them back on their well polished heels. They get a bit big for their britches, they try to become art bankers, making guarantees, paying huge advances to estates and all this other crazy stuff. They have done it before and it is always their “Waterloo”.

Sotheby’s in particular has a history of nearing the financial abyss, not too many years ago to avoid liquidation they were forced to sell their headquarters in New York City and then to rent it back. This was back in the days when the Chairman Mr. Taubman and the firms President D.D. Brooks were convicted of price fixing and put in jail or house arrest after a Federal probe.

Recently Sotheby’s released less than positive sales results as did Christies.

Not long ago, “too much” was something you never heard in in regards to certain categories of fine art. Recently the silly notion that Art IS a good investment has been back in vogue. Consequently coupling the investment angle with what some think is a way to buy social acceptance, the nouveau riche and others bought in and made an overheated market of it. Well, they had better grab their ankles and shut their eyes..their portfolios are shrinking and their art collection is likely getting a bit soft in value as well. Reality is that ART is a Mediocre Investment..always has been.

I am not saying the sky is falling, but if you’ve bought at the top of the current market, you now own a very long term investment I think. Buying great art has ALWAYS been a game for the wealthy..not merely the rich.

Interestingly these financial woes will have several effects for those of us who works as dealers, many of them positive.

• First dealers who have overpaid by using credit lines to build inventories will be gone in the coming months or year. This is fine with me as these types of dealers are not good for business.
• Consignments to auction houses from estates will have much more realistic expectations and will be reflected in the estimates and reserves resulting in a lot fewer “buy-ins” and more honest expectations.
• The auction houses who paid advances will not take a reality check and mover back from this practice.
• Investors who buy art solely as investments will also be gone.

Art does go up in value in time, however believe it or not, art and antiques in general isn’t a great investment. The lesson is collect what you love, collect what makes that side of your life better and you’ll fined the “dividends” are the pleasure they give you.

In time it will work it’s way out prices will shake themselves out, markets Always find their natural levels. This includes the art market as well.

Song Dynasty Qingbai Celadon Bowl

 They can be nearly black and they can be for all intent and purpose done in tones of blue and still be technically called celadons. This was most common in the colors of the pieces made during the Song (960-1279) and Yuan period (1279-1368).  It was during these eras that many scholars and collectors feel had the most variations in the spectrum of color and  and range of glazes. During the Song Yuan dynasties most of these wares were made in Jingdezhen and it is believed this was the starting point for their manufacture.  This was truly a fascinating era of innovation, glaze and potting experimentation. The era’s influence over Chinese Art has lasted for centuries.

This early period was held in such high esteem by the Chinese that during the  Qianlong Emperor’s (1736-1795) rule a revival took place attempting to replicate the ceramics made during this fabled time. Interestingly other items were also reproduced including Jades, paintings and lacquers.  The quality of these revival examples were and still are astounding.

Interior Drawing Qingbai Bowl, Song Dynasty

The bowl shown here was made during the Song Dynasty and while it appears bluish in tone, it is actually classified as a type of celadon. The exterior design is often described as a “Tear Drop” or “Flower Petal” pattern. 

Qingbai Tear Drop Pattern, Song Dynasty

The interior is hand decorated with a charmingly done loosely executed flower, the foot is unglazed-nearly flat and the bowl’s rim has a dry brown dressing.

Qingbai Bowl Rim Dressing, Song Dynasty

These bowls were made in one variety or another in both the Southern and Northern Song (960-1279). Some are slightly whiter and others are much bluer leaning to green.  The glaze on this example and many others is very thin and to the eye free of bubbles.  This is not always the case however as areas of suffused bubbles can be found where it has pooled as in the example of the foot rim of this cup which originally had a stand under it.  In this example the viewer can see the dry rim resulting from the removal of glaze before firing.

Fine Qingbai Glazed Cup, Song Dynasty

Qingbai Foot, Song

The glaze is clear and pure which pools and fills the carved areas making it appear much darker and highlights the design. For the period of it’s manufacture, the paste used to make these bowls were very well levigated and most examples today a free of impurities being revealed after the firing.

Qingbai Foot Rim, Song Dynasty

Other examples exist with glaze free rims, on these the glaze has been wiped clean prior to firing to facilitate stacking of the bowl in the kilns. This style of bowls feature a variety of decorations predominated by varieties of flowers, boys in vines and on some examples fish are shown. The interior decorations to these bowls are a study unto themselves. Some are made in molds leaving a distinct raised relief patterns inside and out which tend to be rather complex and on other examples the decoration is a loosely or quickly drawn pattern.  The bluer toned examples, in my humble experience, are more likely to be drawn rather than press molded.

During the Song Dynasty pieces were made in a bewildering variety of forms from stem cups to exotic animals. Some were in the form of buildings and in this example is a rather rare example of a barge or boat.

Qingbai Boat, Song to Yuan Dynasty

Later into the Yuan period larger Qingbai examples  were made including figures and statues.

 Among the most popular bottle or vase forms of this era and  continued to be made for centuries was the Meiping vase form. Characterized by a gently upward expanding body that curves inward gently on a broad shoulder ending to form a tightly formed smallish neck and mouth.

Molded and Carved Meiping, Song Dynasty

The decortion on these can vary widely from busy high relief decoration to very delicate low relief drawing. This image is a molded and carved example.

NOTE: A good book on this topic is “Qinbai Ware: Chinese Porcelain of the Song and Yuan Dynasties”, By Rosemary Scott, Amy Barnes, Estelle Nikles and Catherine Teo. Edited by Stacey Pierson. It was published by the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, 2002 ISBN: 0 7286 0339X

Zhou Bronze, Freer Collection

 and scrolls often followed by stunned expressions and dropped jaws and of course broad smiles.

One category while not going under the radar is I think perhaps one of the most undervalued. This rather overlooked area is that of fine Chinese celadons from the Song dynasty right through the Qing Imperial wares.  Celadon glazes are subtle and exude a quiet elegance of color, light and offer a unique type of tactile resonance to people who admire and are attracted to them.

In a word, as much as any other type of porcelain celadons speak a language of their own.  For many they are soothing with a thick, clear, soft glowing subtle green and to others they display a strength of singular power and  individuality.  The range of color to be found in these green glazes seem, after seeing the many varieties,  to have more shades than all other colors combined.

Celadons are on occasion additionally decorated  with under glaze blue, or may have a dry brown dressing over unglazed areas as seen in this example from the Freer Sackler Gallery.

Yuan Celadon Vase, Freer Sackler Col.

 More recent examples made from the mid 18th C.  onwards may be enhanced with a famille rose over glaze enamel; the subtle clarity of plain examples with modest incised patterns seem to me superior. An example we have now in inventory is an ovoid jar  and is inlaid with a white paste and filled in with cobalt under glaze blue.  we acquired this for inventory as it seemed quite unique and has interesting pattern which seems to be in the Japanese market taste. A particular form of Chinese celadon seems to be very much favored by Japanese collectors for it’s color and shape. These three legged incense burners are often of a particularly good color, a fine soft green known as Kinuta Green. This shade of color seems to have first evolved in the 12 th C. to 13 th C.  In the next few weeks we’ll add additional images and information on these porcelains, they’ll later be archived in the site’s Articles section as well.

Song Incense Burner, Freer Sackler Gallery

Our eBay user name is plcombs, stop by for a visit.

Over the course of year we will buy computers, scanners, silk neckties, rare books, gifts, silver, tools and sporting goods. Its amazes me just how much is available and how fast it comes once paid for.

Today eBay Sellers are really interested in making you happy, they want you to come back and buy again and they want you to leave them good feedback, maybe even GREAT Feedback. Today’s eBay sellers also know they have lots of competition so they are going to LOVE you for your business.

If you ever wondered about having access to the largest and most diverse shopping sites in the world and are curious about what goes on in eBay every day..join, look, save and have fun.

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This will take you STRAIGHT to the Sign up page..no more digging for the New Members Page!  Shop on eBay. So go and have fun, save money.

Just for fun, if you’re seeking Asian works of art on Ebay and are tired of seeing all the Junk before getting to the good things Click Here SHOW ME THE ASIAN STUFF! 

After selling and buying on eBay as part of our business for many years during which time we’ve repeatedly voiced our concerns over the damage being done to the Mega site by the proliferation of reproductions and point blank deceptive fakes.  eBay, to our surprise, has let us know they are interested in our input on who the offenders are and have provided us with an advanced reporting system for directing them to “inappropriate listings”. 

These reports might simply point out items that are  ”Mis-Categorized” and others which are placed purely for deception.

We understand some folks simply don’t know the difference between Qianlong enamels and Japanese Imari. Honest gaps in knowledge are everywhere. However when you see page after page of things purporting to be for example Massive Imperial Ming Dynasty Period Basin with a Buy It Now price of $350.00 you are looking at a scam. Or worse yet something like the South Western US dealer who offers , among other things,  Ming Celadon Chargers for nearly 3 Million dollars these  are attempted fraud situations. The charger is a fake usually and sometimes Japanese being labeled as Chinese by him..its a horror.  Amusingly I emailed the guy once to see who had authenticated the things and he told me National Geographic and the Natural History Museum in New York did it…It was Absurd obviously as neither place has ANY expertise in this, nor do they EVER authenticate material like this or any other material that I am aware of.

The proliferation of Intentional Fakes and Copies not only on Ebay but throughought the art and antiques world is an epidemic, much more than ever before.

Making the web a better place is something we’d like to do, if we can contribute to it, it will be our pleasure.

 I digress, So forget about people loosing their houses and jobs, pensions being wiped out, health insurance being cancelled. The people in our industry want to know…”Will the Asian Market remain STRONG!!!”.  The answer is in a word…”Are you kidding? NO! is the short answer for now.”.

Less money means just that, less jobs means less money, collapsing stock markets and failed bank credit means less money.  Don;t you remember the lost decade…? in Japan?? So….try and follow me on this, when there is less money people prioritize spending much more carefully. Here is the order:

1. Housing
2. Food
3. Heat
4. Electricity
5. Cable
6. Clothes for the family
7. Car payments
8. Insurance payments
9. Basic home maintenance
10. Minimum Credit Card payment.
11. Retirement (at age 90)
12. School tuition

and antiques….well its down here someplace…

So, keep reading about that  Kangxi vase, the Qianlong jade animal, maybe go to  http://www.Abebooks.com once in a while and find a bargain.  This too shall pass!

So do I really think things are that bad? NO…not really, Its just good once in a while to get some perspective. I think values for the very best things will continue to rise, the middle market will level off and collectors will collect.  Go to a good museum, enjoy the Asian Art, European Art and whatever else there gets your attention.

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The most important exhibition of Asian Imperial Art of the Ming Dynasty in many years will be on view.  “Power & Glory: Court Arts of China’s Ming Dynasty” organized by Li He, Associate Curator of Chinese Art of the Palace Museum and Michael Knight, Senior Curator of Chinese Art and Deputy Director of Strategic Programs and   Partnerships. The exhibition has on loan stunningly rare items from the Palace Museum (Forbidden City) in Beijing, the Nanjing Municipal Museum, and the Shanghai Museum, Chinas three most important Asian Art Museums.

They all tend to have a dozen or fewer images, all too small and maybe a title and little else. This includes the National Palace Museum in Taiwan and the Metropolitan Museums of Art in New York. These two get at best a “D” for content, information, ease of use and image quality. In other cases they show things of such low quality, but lots of them it might end up making you hate Asian Art.

So, who has the hands down BEST site?

For me the answer is easy. For the very best in quality and depth online The Freer and Sackler Gallery at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC. wins hands down.

This is the Asian art reference informational and image site of all sites!! Fantastic is an understatement.

So you might ask how many images and text captions are on this site? Its hard to say actually. If you include; Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Southeast Asian and cover Ceramics, Paintings, , Prints, Bronzes and Carvings etc. somewhere around 5,500 images are available and ALL FOR FREE!!!!    ALL the images Enlarge!!! For a quick peek have a look at the Chinese Art Section at the Freer - Sackler.

Yes I said all the data is free. Its free because its the Smithsonian Institution and the place belongs to us all the American people. If you add Islamic and middle eastern stuff, the images total over 6,000.

Enjoy it, the images can be saved onto your own computer as desktops for your computer, you can create a Private Collection on the site of you favorite images and things..sort of like having your own museum. So you can at last Collect Song bowls, Ming Paintings, Neolithic Bronzes, and Yuan Basins if your thing is Chinese…if Japan is your area of interest you can build a group of screens and scrolls.  From a personal standpoint, the monchromes and are particularly excellent.

The possibilities are endless, the next rainy day you might even find something there to interest your children. If you decide its as good as I do..maybe make a donation of a couple dollars.

Have a peek at the site..

http://www.asia.si.edu/collections/default.htm