" Girl with a flower '
Isabelo Tampinco
cast marble
26ins
Last post I talked about the need to be a wise, informed collector and research what you want to purchase, in this post I would like to talk about why it is very important that you shop around, ask questions and research what you want to collect.
“ CAVEAT EMPTOR
“... Buyer beware.
A sculpture has come
to the Gallery for sale, it was a very beautiful piece and made by a
well known sculptor, who passed away many years ago. I do not want to
name the Sculptor or the well known piece but I want to use this as
an example of the collector needing to research and know about what
they are about to buy.
I was at an auction
earlier this year when this very same sculpture came up for sale, it was bid up
to above PHP350,000 and was sold to some unknowing collector.
That same sculpture
came be bought for less than PHP100,000 in our Gallery.
What happened?
Who is at fault
here?
The Auction House or
the buyer?
Well not to create
to much controversy for myself, I presume that the Auction House was
instructed to put the reserve on it that they advertised and then it
was put up for bidding and went to the selling price.
Maybe the Auction House should
have done a little more due diligence to research the piece and find
out how many were in existence and at what price they had previously
sold at, then they could have advised the seller of the existence of
other pieces and a more realistic price that they could have hoped
for, but there job is to do as instructed by the seller and sell the
piece for whatever it brings under the hammer.
That does not make
it right.
What about the buyer
of the piece?
The collector, do
they have a responsibility?
When they previewed
the piece before the auction was held, they should have researched
the piece on the internet and taken the time to search out people who
know of the work and if there are any other pieces like it in
existence.
Once they knew they
true value of the sculpture they could have let it be passed in and then
negotiate with the owner of the piece later.
But there were other
bidders?
Yes, but still the knowledgeable collector would have known
of the inflated price and stayed out of the auction knowing full well
that the other bidders were not aware of the true value of the art
work or of the other pieces still in existence.
Most of the cast
marble pieces are part of a series and some are still in existence,
though they are old it still amazes me how they can resurface and
being a cast piece there is sure to be more than one.
It is not my
intention to cast the blame at anyone but to say to our valued
friends of the Gallery, if you are going to pay a lot of money for a
piece of art, research the art, talk to people about it, those pro
and those against. Go around to other galleries ask questions, you
will find someone who knows something about the art work that you are
considering.
Collecting art is a
wonderful passion.
Mark Shellshear
Art Consultant.
Art Consultant.
" Girl with horn of grapes "
F.R. Monti
cast marble... 1938
35ins
No comments:
Post a Comment