See what you need to see, not what you want to see! Item Number: 100054 $0.00

DescriptionA friend brought over a piece for us to look at last week. He proudly handed it to us and said “look how perfect this is!” The problem was, however, it wasn’t perfect. If you looked carefully you could see an area of discoloration that meant to us that there was something funky going on with the piece. After a few minutes of looking, we could tell that there was a large section of the base that was brand new. It was still a great piece and worth plenty of money, but it wasn’t “perfect.”

I have noticed over the years we (and I certainly count myself in the proverbial “we”) tend to see what we want to see when it comes to ancient art. We buy a piece that really strikes our fancy and our mind kind of goes numb or something and our eyes stop seeing reality and focus in on a bit of our personal antiquity fantasy. On many occasions I have taken pieces in to be vetted only to have the “vetter” tell me - “did you notice this, or see that?” And, to be quite honest, on too many occasions I had not seen or noticed these tell-tale signs that a problem might exist. Over the years as I look at more pieces, more collections and do so for appraisals, to authenticate and for us to determine resale potential, I have had to develop a much more critical (although still fallible) eye. So perhaps a few tips for the average collector are in order…

When you look at acquiring a new piece or you are just receiving one from your favorite source (most likely Artemis), before you get all warm and gooey inside from your treasure, make sure the condition is just as described by the seller. You do not want to accept a piece with restoration that was presented as choice - unless you are satisfied with the cost reduction offered by the seller. This also implies you and the seller are on the same wave-length with regard to the terms used to describe condition. If you have questions on this, I have a blog for that…

Perhaps the best mental approach to take with any piece you are reviewing is “I believe this piece is either damaged or fake. Let me see if the evidence can change my mind…” That immediately puts you in a suspicious position that opens your eyes to the real possibility that there could be hidden problems. When looking at your piece, look for ANYTHING that looks out of ordinary. Is there an area of discoloration (be it metal, glass, pottery, textile, etc) that stands out and should not be there? Is there a change in texture between one area and another that can’t be explained by surface deposits? Do you see cracks or fissures that weren’t exposed? If pottery does the piece “klunk” when you ding the edge instead of “ping” (sure sign of a hidden crack)? If painted pottery, are there changes in style, darkness, texture, iridescence, patina of any of the pigments? Look at your new (or potentially new) treasure in different types of light sources. Sunshine can often expose issues that are hidden by florescent or incandescent lights. If pottery, apply a small spritz of water to see if that changes the appearance of any area of the piece.

Once you find areas that stand out – even slightly – are there obvious explanations for these areas, or do they warrant deeper inspection or deeper investigation? If the answer to this is yes, start with the owner of the piece and see if he has a good reason for this standout “feature” but also make sure he isn’t blowing that proverbial smoke up your proverbial back side… This may be where you want to send pix to other dealers, other experts, other advanced collectors, or to take the piece to be viewed by other more experienced eyes. If the obvious answer has to be, this discolored area does not make sense, and I suspect this means restoration, present your evidence and stand your ground until you are proved otherwise. After you are satisfied that your purchase is everything you expected, now it’s time to get all gooey brained and enjoy the treasure for what it is – an irreplaceable piece of history!

Happy and safe collecting!

Bob