Truth to style matters greatly in Asian art

Today I received a call from a person in Honolulu who had lost four Chinese vessels in a move (the fault of the moving company).

Sadly, four are pieces of Chinese porcelain. He asked if I could help with a value and sent me photos. (A word of advice: if you have a moving claim, find an appraiser close so he/she can sign that she saw it in person.)

I found the client a colleague in Honolulu, but not before I explained something interesting and also challenging about Asian ceramics to this lovely client. (A note: I once wrote an article for the News Press about Asian art, and it has gone viral — even though I am NOT an expert in Asian art.)

Call or email me at elizabethappraisals@gmail.com, because I will inform you of the real experts, one of which lives here in Santa Barbara, Keith Moore!

The problem and the glory with Asian porcelain is that certain forms of ceramic have been around since the Song or Sung dynasty (906-1290) andwell before, into the Han dynasty (206-220). Such is the case with the Honolulu client who had four vases inherited from greatgrandparents who came to Hawaii from China in 1911 with the pieces. All were destroyed in a move.

The question is: How old are the pieces? And does age influence value?

The fine shade of difference in Asian art vs. Western art is that Asian art has classic shapes and forms that have not changed in 2,000 years. In fact, truth to the forms is the guide for value.

In Western art, it is often change and innovation that determine value, and often, if you are a student studying art history, your professor will call this the (Eurocentric) genius factor in Western (European) art. The great artists (white male European geniuses of art history) changed shapes, forms and styles because of their great geniuses, and made each era different. That is not the same with Asian art of antiquity.

Thus, the opposite is true in Asian art from Western art. To stay close to your teacher‘s style is your mark of genius, albeit that your teacher lived 2,000 years ago. So that adherence to the truth of style, once perfected, is a mark of an artist’s genius throughout time in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean art of antiquity.

So the client in Hawaii had four vases that are in the Archaic Chinese style, which could be in 12th or 13th century or could be the work of a modern artist who followed the teaching of the Song dynasty — and these could be 20th century.

The glaze doesn’t help us much to date the pieces because the old glaze from the ancient ceramics of China are also classic and haven’t changed much in 2,000 years.

Likewise, the applied stylized handles have not changed, and the banded decoration — which is a doubly interesting feature — has not changed much.

There are two reasons for banded decoration — and also for glazing. Glazing keeps the water out of a vessel. Banding strengthens. Strengthening a vessel with outside the banding of thicker clay makes the vessel stronger! And it is still used and loved today.

So what is the age of such pieces?

I would say that the Stylistic Age is Song in the 13th century, but the date of creation is the 20th century or perhaps late 19th century, and the values are, of course, different. For a Song piece, the value is $10,000 or more each.

Depending on an expert opinion (and I use I M Chait Auctions in Beverly Hills for anything Asian, or Keith Moore here in Santa Barbara), a 19th- or 20th-century version of a Song dynasty set of vessels is different in terms of value.

If 20th-century reproduction (in which “reproduction” is the wrong word because these were not reproduction pieces, but, in the homage style, memorials of Song dynasty pieces), we are valuing each at $2,000 or more.

So, dear reader, use experts (not me) when dealing with Asian fabrics or ceramics because the aesthetics are different from how we (those of us trained in art history in the 1990s) have been trained to think about artistic innovation.

Try I M Chait auctioneers in Beverly Hills for the very top expert opinions — and they can write appraisals and give auction estimates as well. Or call me for Mr. Moore’s email, and he can help with anything Asian.

Dr. Elizabeth Stewart’s “Ask the Gold Digger” column appears Saturdays in the News-Press. Written after her father’s COVID-19 diagnosis, Dr. Stewart’s book “My Darlin’ Quarantine: Intimate Connections Created in Chaos” is a humorous collection of five “what-if” short stories that end in personal triumphs over presentday constrictions. It’s available at Chaucer’s in Santa Barbara.

COURTESY PHOTOS

Elisabeth Fowler Joe Howell

Santa Barbara Foundation announces its Persons of the Year

won the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ Santa Barbara County Philanthropist of the Year award in 2021 and has been an active supporter of several nonprofits focused on health care, conservation, and education.

to perform at Lobero

SANTA BARBARA — Tom Russell, a UCSB graduate and award-winning singer/ songwriter, will perform March 31 at the Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St.

This Santa Barbara concert will mark Mr. Russell’s third performance in a world tour spanning North America, the United Kingdom and Europe.

Russell’s latest recording of original compositions, October in the Railroad Earth, has received critical acclaim, and Elton John’s lyricist Bernie Taupin cited it as “the best record of the year.” Tickets for the show are available now at lobero.org.

Mr. Howell is co-founder of Howell Moore & Gough, LLP: HMG Law and has been in active service to the Santa Barbara-area business, education, and athletic communities for 50 years. Luncheon tickets cost $80 and are available at sbfoundation.org at $80.

— Caleb Beeghly