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Collectors or criminals? After every major art
heist, experts opine that there is no criminal mastermind amassing the
world's greatest paintings in a Jamaican hideaway. In that case, say David
Frohnsdorff and Andrew Cranwell of Southampton Institute, collectors ain't
what they used to be... What motivates a true collector? I don't mean a
casual treasure hunter such as we see today, trawling boot sales or the
internet to unearth the odd item of interest, but a real monomaniac. Any
single theory of collecting does not seem to fit perfectly and fails to
account for the many disparate types of collector. The study of the
psychology of collecting and the evolution of collections is a fertile field
of academia. Indeed, much careful, objective, systematic study as well as a
more innovative, individualised and multi-disciplinary approach, to the
collectors themselves is long overdue. Some historical collectors' behaviour has seemed
reckless and fanatical and is far from easy to understand. For example, the
Florentine humanist and Renaissance collector of rare documents and
manuscripts, Poggio Bracciolini (1430-1459), was so possessed that he thought
nothing of stealing his treasures from monks! He toured monasteries in search
of Classical manuscripts whose importance had been overlooked by the resident
monks and filched examples that took his fancy. This was not impulsive
behaviour, but carefully planned and ruled by an unfliching rationale.
Similarly, Sir Thomas Phillips (1792-1872), a British collector, left his family
in a state of poverty while he fulfilled his obsession for book collecting
(when he could no longer afford to purchase rare manuscripts). In a letter to
a friend he clarified his excessive actions: 'I am buying printed books
because I wish to have one copy of every book in the world!' Rene Gimpel, a noted Parisian art dealer of the
early 20th century, stated that a book could be filled with tales of the
cruelty of such collectors possessed with this sentiment d'incomplitude. This
means the driven need to own and control and the inability to tolerate
frustration. These collectors developed their own moral code that encompassed
the exigencies of their desire to collect. Many collectors, past and present, enjoy simply
possessing and looking at their objects - some of them may even be happy to
own a stolen item despite the fact that they have no legal title, which will
prevent them from selling for profit. These clandestine collectors differ
from legitimate collectors, not in their aesthetic response to art, but only
in the means by which they are prepared to acquire it. Documenting the lives and travel of these
personalities, Professor Edward Chaney (author of 'Evolution of the Grand
Tour') and Dr Tim Wilks (contributor to 'Clanricard's Castle, Portumna) have
begun work on an academic analysis of one of the most fascinating phenomena,
the history of collecting. In 1997, they established a unique History of
Collecting Research Centre at Southampton Institute, focusing on the study of
documentary evidence related to collections and investigating the boundaries
and diversity of the collecting ethos. Collecting is an expression of personal choice, but
when institutionalised, as it was in the 18th century with the Grand Tour, it
can lead to cultural transformation, as national tastes are changed by the
vogues set by influential individuals. It was the fashion for young
Englishmen of the upper classes to leave university before obtaining their
degree and follow in the footsteps of Lord Arundel and Inigo Jones, who
travelled across Europe collecting sculpture. Edward Chaney has described
this ritual as 'a way in which the English almost became civilised through
travelling abroad.' Today, the practise of collecting raises a number
of interesting questions. How can we explain the explosion of collecting in
the late 20th century? Has collecting become an extension of our shopping
habits? Where is the line between fashion and individual taste? Will the ease
and accessibility of internet searching increase the interest in specialist
collections, as it offers a chance for committed individuals to meet and
concentrate their enjoyment in online communities. Just as the Grand Tour
historically shaped English collecting tastes, will modern technology help to
formulate global taste in forgotten or new collecting fields? If you would like to
continue the discussion, then you can e-mail us at either:
acranwell@clara.net or dfrohnsdorff@hotmail.com. Restoration - it's no comedy 'Well, sir, here we
have William the Conqueror's original battleaxe - it's only had two new heads
and three new shafts...' The same can be said for cars. When is a car not a
car and how important is authenticity in determining pedigree and therefore
price? Mary Kate O'Riley provides some answers The classic car market appears to be on the up, if
the recent successes of the major auctioneers are anything to go by. Brooks'
April auction at Olympia achieved total sales of over £2 million, unusual for
so early in the auction calendar. Christie's also fared well both here and in
the USA, with the total sold at their March auction in Florida exceeding $6
million. The highly desirable and rare 1932 Alfa Romeo 8C-2300 Cabriolet hit
the headlines by selling at Brooks' Olympia auction for over half a million
pounds. Group managing director Malcolm Barber was astonished at the closing
deal for the car and attributed its success to international marketing. 'By
advertising for up to four months preceding the auction and tapping into our
database of over 30,000 people, we could market the car worldwide', he says. There seems to be no hard and fast rule as to how
much so-called originality affects the value of a classic, veteran or vintage
car; as with most forms of valuation, many other factors affect price. And
when it comes to cars, how do you accurately define original? The look of a
car when it was first built may be somewhat different from when it appears
for sale, because, as Malcolm Barber puts it, 'cars, unlike many other types
of collectables, are subject to a continuous history'. When a Formula 1 car
appears in its umpteenth grand prix, it will have been smashed, repaired,
altered and generally tweaked so much that it is simply not the same machine
as when it was first 'born'. The purists' argument may be that, to keep its
originality, a car should undergo no change but, given the nature of cars,
their uses and their owners, a more realistic rule would be to keep as close
to the original design as possible. In fact, it could be argued that if a
vehicle remains in the same pristine condition throughout its life by virtue
of the fact that it has never been used, it is really no more than a museum
piece. When the new owner took possession of the 1961 Messerschmitt KR 200
Sport bought at Brooks' Olympia auction, he asked 'What petrol do I use?',
and the vendor had to admit he had never driven the thing. There is that category of car which is so perfectly
restored and maintained that it is to be judged on its beauty rather than its
durability, its looks rather than its performance on the road. These machines
are the cover girls of the car world, lovingly polished and cosseted,
probably daily, yet rarely are they driven. Indeed, at many of the 'concours'
events around the world where they are displayed by their owners with pride,
their engines are never heard. Imagine a line up of perfect poodles at
Cruft's, unwilling to get their paws dirty, and you get the picture. On the other hand, you may be the kind of buyer who
seeks enjoyment through putting the car through its paces. That tiger-like
purr as you turn the ignition on is what turns you on. The majority of cars
at the Brooks Olympia auction fell into this 'to be driven and enjoyed'
category, with a number of 1970s Ferraris, a delightful 1953 Austin Healey
roadster, various MGs and a 1954 Aston Martin among others. In addition,
there are always many less salubrious but just as popular collectables in
such auctions. Take the charming Fiat 500 which sold at Brooks in Monaco in
May and came complete with all its racing markings, mini-bar (no kidding) and
television set. The buyer, a practically minded American, thought it would be
just perfect for parking in New York. And it turns heads. Quality of restoration is still important but the
driving force (pardon the pun) behind the buyer is to enjoy the drive rather
than keep the car under wraps. Malcolm Barber, who was responsible for
selling a Ferrari 250 GTO in 1990 for a world record £6.4 million, related
how it was treated with kid gloves after the sale. Two security guards lived
with it day and night. While it was being guarded at Silverstone racetrack,
Malcolm saw another GTO approaching. The owner simply drove into the public
car park, got out and tossed the keys in his pocket. As Malcolm sees it, whether a car is to be driven
for enjoyment or kept in a controlled environment, its value is affected by
the extent to which it resembles the original. In terms of prices that can be
fetched, clearly a well kept truly original car will get the highest price.
The same model but assembled from original parts will fetch the next best
level, probably still quite considerable. 'Originality scores every time,' he
says, 'but an interesting provenance is also a great attraction. Who owned
it, where it was raced, all these aspects of its history appeal to buyers'. Auctioneers provide condition reports on cars they
sell but they cannot offer guarantees as to the authenticity of the car.
Their role is to present the car to the market, ensure all relevant
information pertaining to the vehicle is at hand, and allow potential buyers
to inspect both the car and its accompanying documentation. It is a sad fact
of life that some of these cars will be bought purely for their
attractiveness as parts for rebuilds of perhaps several other similar models
and this is where the restoration issue becomes hazy. It is difficult to get a handle on what percentage
of a car has to be original in order for it to be considered 'original'.
Clearly, it is plain illegal to build an 'original' from no more than a
chassis plate, because a chassis plate has to verify and accord with the
numbers stamped on the body of the car itself but where do you draw the line?
Talk to the MG Owners Club and they relate the
importance of originality, and from that, value, to the age of the car. MGBs are not rare, so the majority of buyers want
to get the best they can looks-wise. New parts are readily available, you can
now even buy a brand new Heritage bodyshell, so a totally restored 1960s MGB
could well fetch more than a more original one of the same era in average
condition. Go further back, however, to the MGAs (1955-62) and here
originality has more bearing on the value of the car. It is not so easy to
buy new factory parts for these models, so an MGA with original wings and
bumpers, for example, would be quite a find. These parts may not have been
the ones the car was first made with; in fact, many original MGA parts
emanate from America, where cars are less susceptible to rust. Nevertheless,
to use them in a restoration would be far preferable to using often poorly
made replica parts. Delve even deeper into history to the pre-war MG
models. A completely restored MG from this era wouldn't fetch anywhere near
as much as one with original features. Mike Beals, technical expert from the
Owners Club, referred to an MG P-Type, recently bought by a true enthusiast
collector. A lovely two-seater sports car used up to and through World War
II, this model still had its white pips on the wings, necessary when dimmed
headlights had to be used during blackouts. 'This P-Type, which has never
been repainted, with a delightfully worn and grazed interior, is virtually
irreplaceable - I doubt there is another one of its kind,' he says. The collectable car market is a multi-billion pound
industry internationally, including restorers, coachbuilders, engineers and
dealers. Add all that together and you can understand why restoration,
contentious as it may sometimes seem, is necessitated by a continuous desire
for quality cars. Popularity is driven by enthusiasm and there is a market
out there keen to lap up originals, near originals, less obvious originals,
and plain old replicas. And the art of valuation of these collectables is
exactly that, an art, not a precise science. Although sales are totally
linked to recession, inflation and economic conditions in each country, it
looks like this industry will restore for evermore. Originality certainly scores highest in the
criteria for price, and those who are seriously interested in the authentic
are willing, happy even, to accept a fair degree of knocks and dents if
they're getting the real thing for their money. The more interesting history
a vehicle possesses the better, so provenance is also a significant factor
and if it hasn't been seen in the market for a while, value again is added
here. Restoration may not always be the answer, and it may not necessarily
enhance value, but if it is sympathetically carried out, where possible using
original parts, then, like 'restorative' work on the human body, it can
provide a whole new lease of life. This article was first
published in 'The
Valuer', July/August 1999. Restorer in focus - Simon Gillespie Simon Gillespie has
been a restorer for 24 years, specialising in oil paintings, works in tempera
and wall and ceiling painting, Early English pictures and Old Masters His experience and enthusiasm for the trade mean
that he is a source of countless anecdotes and obscure facts about everything
from pigments to English history. A hundred years ago, he tells Trace, there
was a craze for a pigment called 'mummy', made from exhumed mummified bodies.
Apothecaries used to import ground-up remains from two grave robbers in
Egypt, claiming that the powder prolonged life. When medicinal sales lagged,
they sold it to the colour men as a dark brown pigment. Another interesting
case is of 'Indian yellow', a pigment made in India from the urine of cows
fed on mangoes but now, alas, no longer used. Gillespie's personal passion is for British 16th
century paintings, because they are 'almost exclusively portraits of
interesting historical figures'. One of the greatest finds he ever worked on
is the only known portrait of Prince Arthur, elder brother of Henry VIII,
which now hangs in Hampton Court Palace. The 15-year-old Arthur married
Catherine of Aragon, but the marriage was never consummated before his death,
aged 16, making way for his ladykiller younger brother. 'When we first saw
the picture it had been altered to look like a Holbein, with overpaint and
additional panels.' Simon Gillespie helped research and acquire
paintings for the world famous Berger collection, which is soon to have a
permanent home at Denver Art Museum. Nowadays, about half of his time is
spent advising potential buyers on the condition of paintings coming up for
sale. Condition report These are the professionals' methods of inspection:
·
Thoroughly
inspect the painting for damage or restoration with a strong torch or in daylight. ·
Look
at the paint surface in reflected or raking light, to locate any bumps or
dents, holes or flakes. ·
Study
the back as well as the front of a canvas. Auctioneers will often let you
take a picture out of its frame to look for damage or relining. ·
Use
UV light to reveal later retouchings. Salerooms will allow you to bring in
your own UV lamp, but seek the interpretation of an expert - a thin glaze can
easily be misread as overpaint. New paint normally shows dark; old varnish
tends to be opaque and greenish, making it difficult to see the paint film. ·
X-rays
taken in the workshop can show up losses or damage hidden by overpaint. X-ray
photos also reveal preliminary sketches and the artist's changes of
direction. ·
Infra-red
can show the artist's original drawing lines, which is useful to determine
attributions. ·
Dendrochronology
can be used to date a panel, whilst microscopic cross-sections can reveal
differing paint layers and pigments. Pigment analysis can be used to provide
a terminus post quem for pictures; for instance Prussian blue was first used
in 1724. The real thing? Fakes and forgeries
are not limited to the world of fine art. Richard Playle explains some of the
risks of collecting militaria In an early episode of the sadly missed (by me at any
rate) Inspector Morse, before the plot line is established, we are treated to
a scene where Morse and Lewis discuss the finer points of the case before a
road sign proclaiming 'Keatings Close'. To the cognoscenti, this is a clue
that the plot will move into the realms of art forgery. Tom Keating's exploits and the red faces they
caused in the art world are probably the best known of any art forger, or
'copier', as he insisted calling himself, in the 20th century. This is
probably because he was caught, imprisoned and subsequently became a
celebrity. The number of forgers at work undetected and, indeed, the number
of Keating forgeries still undetected could well be a major embarassment, if
ever the truth were revealed. It would be wrong to think, however, that the
multi-million- dollar fine art world is the only area of collecting at the
mercy of forgers. The increasing popularity of collecting, fired by the media
interest in antiques, has meant that the availability of choice items is
rapidly diminishing. At this point the law of supply and demand takes effect
- if you cannot find original items to sell, make them. As proof positive, one of the areas greatly
affected by the 'repro-artist' is that of collecting Nazi regalia. To quote
the Evening Standard some time back, 'the devil has the best tunes but the
Nazis had the best tunics'. This would seem to be the guiding principle for
those prepared to pay £3,000 for an Allgemeine-SS officer's uniform (the
little black numbers so beloved by fancy dress party goers). So popular has
this area become that, bizarrely, a great number of reproduction insignia and
uniforms are being made in Pakistan! In truth, most areas of collecting are now infected
by this problem, and it can be extremely difficult to tell the forgery from
the real thing. This is particularly true when the original is a rarity and
direct comparison impossible. I, for one, actually gave up collecting
militaria because of the number of times I got caught! It has to be said that it is not always the case
that copies are passed off as genuine. A sizeable market exists for what are
called 'museum copies', faithful to the original item and usually reserved
for pieces so rare or valuable that ownership of the actual item is out of
reach of all but the extremely wealthy. But what is the real value of a copy? Any copy, no
matter how well manufactured and 'aged' lacks provenance, the collector's
term for tying a specific item - a medal, for instance - to a specific owner
or action. Without this it is surely worthless, even original medals are
considerably less valuable if ownership is unknown - or the regiment
unfashionable. Insurers, and owners themselves, have been too slow
to appreciate the spiralling popularity of collecting and acompanying price
rises in collectables. A serious gap is therefore developing in the adequacy
of many clients' contents sums insured. Whilst most insurers recognise fine
art, antiques, medals and stamps as categories, they overlook the newer
trends. What about the ghastly 'beanie' soft toys? I understand blue and
yellow elephants, manufactured last year, now fetch $3000 each. One gentleman
actually admitted to the Daily Mail that he had collected 'cabbage patch'
dolls to the value of £30,000 - one wonders what insurance arrangements he
had made! If you are a collector, connoisseur or eccentric,
you should contact a specialist insurance broker for your contents insurance
- relying on the sympathy of a standard home insurer when you claim for loss
of your $3000 beanie elephant or SS Totenkopf Division cuff title could well
be wishful thinking! Richard Playle has
been insuring high value homes and their contents for more than 20 years,
initially with the Country Gentleman's Association and latterly with Thatch
Underwriting Agencies Ltd. He has recently set up his own company
specialising in unusual properties and their contents. The value of digital technology by
Martin Spencer-Thomas I was probably the first auctioneer and valuer in
the country to go digital (about 4 years ago). As soon as the first digital
cameras came within the budget of the ordinary man in the street, I bought
one, and have since upgraded three times. In my work as a valuer, I use it
constantly and it saves me an enormous amount of time (especially on the
client's premises) and money. Digital cameras are crucial tools for the
non-professional photographer. A display on the back of the camera shows
exactly what image you will get before you take it and, after you get back to
the office, you can manipulate the images to cut out anything you don't want
in the picture and end up with a very professional presentation. I use an Olympus C800L with a slightly wide-angled
lens. It is good for the close-ups you need for insurance purposes, picking
out every unique detail of the piece, but it also allows you to step back and
take a roomful of furniture. But remember, your printed results will only be as
good as your printer. I use a colour laser and can run off as many copies as
I need for my auction catalogues and valuations. Valuation and variety The work of a modern
valuer can range from technology consultant to dog walker, says Spencer Ewen
of Gurr Johns Valuers are now providing, as a matter of course,
numerous additional pre-loss services that enhance post-loss service.
Photographs, both digital and regular 35mm, CD Rom valuations and security
marking systems all enhance chances of recovery. Gurr Johns, Britain's
largest independent valuation company, offers all of these and indeed are now
asked not just to provide various types of valuations for market value,
insurance, family division, IHT, etc., but also ascertain a client's demands
for 'comprehensiveness versus cost'. The pressures on the valuer today are huge. Gurr
Johns, immediately before and after World War II, would 'camp' at the
client's home en masse and value everything from the telephone to the ashtray
from the previous summer's pottery class. Those days have all but gone and
the spectrum of valuation requirements, from utterly comprehensive to a
single-item valuation is vast. Many insurers now have single article limits
that superficially disincentivise clients from obtaining even vaguely
comprehensive valuations. However, in order to give any form of globalised
figures for different groups, individual values have to be calculated and the
value of an inventory as much as the values themselves should not be
underestimated. As important as the valuation job is to 'fit in'
with the clients. The presence and helpfulness of the client is of vital
importance for the quality of the valuation. Our valuers often walk the dogs,
help move furniture, drive to the shops and, in one recent case, were invited
back to the latest offspring's christening! The specialist skills of those on
Antiques Roadshow and on the host of other 'antiquey' shows have ensured that
the valuer's discursive skills need to be at a high level now, as well as his
personal knowledge. Of course the valuer is expected to know all values on
the spot! The disappointment of a client about one piece is now often offset
by the realisation that the 1932 poster produced at the last minute or
spotted by chance is worth more than the 'van Eyck'. The relative
sophistication of the art world compared to 10 or 15 years ago has, I
believe, made valuations even more necessary. Collecting and technology Technology has
revolutionised the life of the collector, making it possible to collect and
secure antiques in unforseen new ways, but there is still no substitute for a
lifetime's experience, says Laurence Mitchell You might think that, as an antique dealer, wedded
to the past, I would be relatively immune to the current gale of information
sweeping across society. Not so. In fact, I have become swept up in it. I began business life at the age of 15 as a
philatelist, dealing in British and Commonwealth stamps. By 18, I had
exhausted my patience searching for that British Guinea rarity through
overflowing boxes of stamps and changed to antiques. Ever since I was a
teenager I yearned to travel and antiques had a romantic appeal with their
associations of long ago eras and faraway places. So travel I did, and, by
the age of 25, I had travelled the world. Oddly enough, despite the lure of the Old World as
the original home of antiques, I was doing most of my trading in the New
World by the 1980s. During that decade I visited the United States as often
as three times a month, purchasing antiques in 43 states. A typical itinerary
would be Tuesday afternoon in North Carolina, then a flight to Chicago, where
I dumped my luggage at my hotel for a Thursday night stay, spending that
Tuesday night in Phoenix. Thursday might be a more relaxing day back in
Chicago visiting salerooms and antique shops ready for the following day's
antiques fair at O'Hare Airport. It was at these antiques shows I learned about
collectables. By the 1990s, collectables had encroached on antique territory
to the extent of redefining the word 'antique' to include collectibles. As
antiques became rarer, as consumer markets expanded with growth in incomes,
so the old category of antiques was forced to break down and the one-time
antique dealer had to widen his trading activities, expertise and knowledge.
Typical of the new high net worth collector is my friend in Nevada who has
one of the most important collections of Lalique. He also collects car
mascots, posters, Majolica, Chinese furniture, California police badges,
fossilised quartz and gold nuggets. You find me a valuer whose knowledge encompasses
all such items! Nowadays, whatever your area of interest, be it bus
tickets or bronzes, the internet offers you the opportunity to search
globally for your collectables without leaving home. But the enthusiastic
amateur must beware. Imitations and reproductions manufactured in the Far
East now find their way in to nearly every saleroom and antique shop in the
West. The internet, where information is available at its unregulated rawest,
without any guarantees of provenance or quality control, has profound
implications for insurers and valuers. Insurers are concerned with both
physical security and validation - and technology can be employed to support
both. The last few years have seen new security devices, which improve
physical security, such as Smart Water, microphotography and microdots.
Doubtless, more will appear. One of the latest developments in information
technology that will benefit dealers, insurers, valuers and restorers, is
rotography. Rotographs are images that allow the viewer to see products,
places and events in both the real and virtual worlds in three dimensions,
and all from their own personal computer. Object rotographs allow the viewer
to scrutinize antiques or interiors from any angle or viewpoint, with full
global 360-degree control. Panoramic rotographs allow you to place yourself
in the middle of a scene and view the whole panorama through a full
360-degree navigation. With these you can 'visit' museums and galleries,
scenery and sites. You can also create virtual rotographs from your original
3D models. To end on a human note, we must be careful not to
fall victim to technology hype, even while acknowledging the undoubted
benefits of technology. The ultimate protector of value and authenticity of
antiques will always be the specialist dealer. Laurence Mitchell's
websites are at: http://www.buymeissen.com and http://www.the-insurers-restorers.com
Email him at info@the-insurers-restorers.com |
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