Collecting Asian Art

Getting Started

I give 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.

The most important differentiation is usually between the natural materials and man-made imitations.

Age:

The age of an object places it in history, gives it significance as an historical artifact and generally makes the object rare or unique. In order to make sound decisions on your purchases, it is important to be familiar with the key points in Asian histories and how they relate to the price of an object. This timeline charts the major epochs in Chinese history. [Don’t understand the formatting of the time periods. Make uniform? LJ]

Xia [Hsia] Dynasty 2205 – 1766 B.C.
Shang Dynasty 1766 – 1121 B.C.
Zhou [Chou] Dynasty1027 – 256 B.C.
Western Zhou1027-771 B.C.
Eastern Zhou770 – 221 B.C.
Spring and Autumn Period1066-221 B.C.
Warring States Period770 – 221 B.C.
Qin [Ch’in] Dynasty221 – 207 B.C.
Han Dynasty206 – A.D. 220
Western Han206 B.C. – A.D. 9
Eastern HanA.D. 25 – 200
Six dynasties Period /
Northern and Southern Dynasties 220 – 581 A.D.
Three Kingdoms220 – 280
Wei220 – 265
Shu-Han221 – 263
Wu222 – 280
Jin [Chin] Dynasty265 – 420
Western Jin265 – 317
Eastern Jin317 – 420
Southern Dynasties420 – 588
Song [Sung]420 – 479
Qi [Ch’i]479 – 502
Liang502 – 557
Qen [Ch’en]557 – 589
Northern Dynasties386 – 588
Northern Wei386 – 534
Eastern Wei534 – 550
Western Wei535 -556
Northern Qi [Chi]550 – 577
Northern Zhou [Chou] 557 – 581
Sui Dynasty581 – 618
Tang [T’ang] Dynasty618 – 907
Five Dynasties or Wu Tai907 – 960
Later Liang907 –923
Later Tang [T’ang]923 – 936
Later Jin [Chin]936 – 947
Later Han 947 – 950
Later Zhou [Chou]951 – 960
Ten Kingdoms907 – 979
Liao Dynasty907 – 1125
Song [Sung] Dynasty960 – 1279
Northern Song960 – 1127
Southern Song1127 – 1279
Western Xia [Hsi-hsia] Dynasty 1037 – 1227
Jin [Chin] Dynasty1115 – 1234
Yuan Dynasty (Mongol)1206 – 1368
Ming Dynasty1368 – 1644
Hongwu [Hung-wu] Period1368 – 1398
Jianwen [Chien-wen] Period 1399 – 1402
Hongxi [Hung-hsi] Period1424 – 1425
Xuande [Hsuan-te] Period1426 – 1435
Zhengtong [Cheng-t’ung] Period1436 – 1449
Jingtai [Cheng-t’ai] Period 1450 – 1456
Tianshun [T’ien-shun] Period1457 – 1464
Chenghua [Ch'eng-hua] Period 1465 – 1487
Hongzhi [Hung-chih] Period 1488 – 1505
Zhengde [Cheng-te] Period1506 – 1521
Jiajing [Chia-cheng] Period1522 – 1566
Longqing [Lung–ch’ing]1567 – 1572
Wanli [Wan-Li] Period 1573 – 1610
Tiachang [T’ai-ch’ang] Period 1620
Tianqi [T’ien-ch’i] Period1620 – 1627
Chongzhen [Ch’ung-chen] Period 1627 - 1644

Qing [Ching] Dynasty (Manchu)1644 – 1911
Shunzhi [Shun-chih] Period1644 – 1661
Kangzi [K’ang-His] Period1622 – 1722
Yongzheng [Yung-cheng] Period1723 – 1735
Qianlong(Ch’ien-lung) Period1735 – 1796
Jiaqing [Chia-Ch’ing] Period1796 – 1820
Daoguang [Tao-kuang] Period1821 – 1850
Xianfeng [Xsien-feng] Period 1851 – 1861
Tongzhi [T’ung-chih] Period1862 – 1874
Guangxu [Kuang-hsu] Period1875 - 1908
Xuantong [Hsuan-t’ung]1908 – 1911
Republic of China1912 – 1949
Hongxian Period (Yuan Shikai)1915 – 1916
People’s Republic of China 1949 – Present Day

You should also become familiar with Japanese history, the Shogunates and the influence each exerted on the artisans and arts of each epoch.

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.

It is important also to understand the mindset of the Asian artisans, particularly in the earlier periods. A carver, for instance, would generally have been well educated and quite likely a poet or scholar in his own right. In one scenario, he could be walking by the Yangtze River when he spies an interesting stone in the shallows. He recognizes it as jade. Picking it up and turning it in his hand, he envisions a bird. He takes the stone to his workshop and carves the bird. In the mind of the maker, he would have been removing the excess stone and revealing the bird that was present in the stone all the time. The artistry involved, and the care this carver took to reveal this bird as he originally envisioned it in the jade reflects easily in the best works of Asian art.

To sum up: get to know your materials; allow yourself the opportunity to become familiar with the major historical periods and what types of objects they producedand , always take into consideration the technical skill of the maker.