Unless you’re selling gold ingots or diamonds, most fine objects don’t have intrinsic monetary value. So why would anyone pay tens of thousands of dollars for a Tiffany vase? To truly understand value, you have to understand the mindset of a collector. Let’s start by comparing vases and bowls.  To simplify this exercise, assume you have a bowl and a vase made of the same material (pottery or glass, for example) by the same company, the same year, decorated by the same artist or one of similar value, in the same condition, and even the same size, though one is measured in height and the other in width.  We’re pretty much talking about the same piece with that one notable exception.  Would the value really be different?        For starters, a bowl takes up nearly twice as much space on a collector’s shelf than a vase.  Few people have unlimit...Read More

We have all watched the funny movie scene of the guy scratching his head only to hear a booming voice yelling “sold” with a thunderous fall of the gavel as the auctioneer points to the unsuspecting gentleman who is sheepishly sliding down in his chair. “Sir, what’s your number? Sir… Yes, you with the beet red face. I have you as the winning bidder for $15,000.” We have all been in the crowd when these moments happen. Maybe you have been the person looking to blend in with the cupboard next to you, hoping that if you do not look the auctioneer directly in the eyes, you will not be seen and if you cannot be seen then you certainly do not have to pay $15,000 for that rusty old piece of junk unearthed from an abandoned barnyard. From the podium, I am privileged to see all of the winks, waggles, nods, waves, and covert telepathic communications ...Read More