The Valuation of Art
Leonardo Da Vinci’s ‘Christ as Salvator Mundi’
Valued by Christie’s at a whooping $100 million.
Value of artwork is among the most important issues a collector faces, especially today, in the highly fluctuating market. Although the general recommendation is to consult an expert, there are several things a collector can do to come closer to knowing the approximate value of a particular piece. It may be difficult for a young collector to understand why the piece he or she loved so much is valued relatively low, but the appraisal is not to be taken in with emotions. Market value is one thing, while the cultural value of an artwork can always be defined as, ‘ priceless.’
For all of the collectors, and art enthusiasts, below is a cheat sheet compiled by the Christie’s and Saffron Auction House.
AUTHENTICITY: Any work of art has to conform to all the elements required of that particular category. Like the originality of the piece, i.e. if anything has been altered. The soul of the object-which is the true and intended manifestation of an artists idea. Also important is the fact whether the piece of work was done openly or on the sly. Sometimes works of art are unsigned, this makes the piece harder to decipher so everything depends on the art expert who can read it like handwriting. As the experts say “every brush stroke speaks”. However every expert has to be constantly vigilant and has to keep an eye open for the telltale signs like the materials used; whether the paper is appropriate for the period, is the weave of the canvas typical, then there is also the smell test for those pieces kept in religious places like churches, temples or monasteries.
CONDITION: This refers to the physical life of a work of art reflected in the present. This depends on the state of preservation; the condition of the piece impacts its value tremendously. In fact something, which is in pristine condition, has extraordinary value. The work of art thus, should not show signs of age as the most sought after valuable objects look new.
RARITY: This condition can only become a factor when there is desirability. At its core, the art market is a classic supply and demand business. For a very rare piece even condition issues are forgiven. One of the fundamentals of rarity is that there is no more of that work being produced. Thus, the older the works of art are the rarer they become and it also becomes rarer to get them in a satisfactory condition. Also, many works of art end up in museums and private collections thus the pool becomes diminished. Rarity can feed the mythology of an object, but factoring scarcity into value is a sophisticated equation because good things are always scarce.
PROVENANCE: This refers to the history of the ownership of the artwork. The story of ownership can be as if not more interesting as the artist. Buyers like context, thus if a piece belonged to some famous personality or to royalty like the Nizam of Hyderabad or to Queen Victoria then it becomes more interesting. A perfect auction piece has a great story behind it and much of the story is based on the provenance.
HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE: Every piece of art is like a time capsule as they hold clues to the moments they were created. The historical importance of a work derives from the day, from the moment that it was created. Kind of a macrocosm to microcosm. This can go into what that particular piece means for the development of our history. In fact photographs and paintings are historical documents in themselves.
SIZE: In many cases size does matter and there are artists whom one can buy literally by the square inch. If one is looking for statement pictures or works of art then size does matter. Just like David’s triumph over Goliath. When something is unusually large it means that it is the ‘tour de force’, the end of all of that particular artist’s work. In this the artist wants to produce a masterpiece so that he can encompass all kinds of really intricate details.
FASHION:Trends arrive and leave just like fashions and clothing they do tend to come back around. Fashion can be a very dangerous word in the art world as many artists peak early in their career and then take a horrific tumble, which is dangerous. Also, the price of a piece of art is at the mercy of the shifting world economy. Some works transcend their times, many soon fall out of favor while others take generations to gain appreciation.
SUBJECT MATTER : Some subject matters are always of a great importance and thereby their valuation would be more. Beauty is always in the eyes of the beholder and the beholder would always find something more beautiful.
MEDIUM: This is probably the first thing the art expert always looks at. Inventive and innovative medium always adds to the value of a work of art. A great many artists constantly experimented with the range of methods and means.
QUALITY: There are many ways of defining quality. It can be the intrinsic merit of the item, sometimes just the skill of the artist, innovation within the piece, craftsmanship- which is really quality is the closest that one can get to beauty. Quality is something that makes it unique and unrepeatable. It is a composition that transcends generations and that perhaps is timeless in its beauty. When one sees a work of art of truly exceptional quality, it may be that the artist has arrived at something that has possibly exceeded him or her .