People
often call the antique business a "wonderfully
useless" profession. In a way it is an antidote
to some of the self-importance of the antique
and art trade. Antique dealers, whether we like
it, or not, differ little from any other product
merchant, with three exceptions.
First, what we sell, however beautiful, is fundamentally
unnecessary. Second, we sell almost exclusively
to the rich, or near rich. Third, a comprehensive
knowledge, built up over a long period, is generally
necessary to buy or sell expensive antiques.
Many antique dealers are terrible snobs. Sometimes
at international antique shows, you will find
the dealers stare grandly into the middle distance
from the enclosures of their booths. These are
people who ultimately confuse themselves with
their clients, who believe that by having sold
a Georgian silver cup to Princess Diana somehow
makes them a member of the Royal Family. Despite
all the P.R. that the antiques trade is open to
everyone… it isn't.
Good
things are usually expensive, and if you don't
have a certain amount of money you aren't going
to be able to buy fine antiques, unless you make
terrific sacrifices, or buy in an obscure field,
or have the time, patience and knowledge to ferret
out pieces in remote and undiscovered areas.
The problem of money extends to dealers as well.
A dealer without substantial financial resources,
combined with good knowledge (including perhaps,
a comprehensive course on antiques!), and dedication,
is not able to carry a high quality stock. Without
a large and high quality stock it is impossible
to attract a knowledgeable and well-heeled clientele.
Therefore the antique business strongly favours
long established businesses with good client lists
built up over the years.
The third factor mentioned earlier in the article
is specialized knowledge. Antique dealers will
spend a lifetime learning a subject which is immensely
complex and which relies often on subjective opinions
as well as objective facts.
Take
the question of taste. Despite the unending argument
on "good" versus "bad" taste,
few people can actually define the term: In France
and England, most people simply decide what they
like (good taste) and what they don't (bad taste)
and then try to build some consensus to reaffirm
that view. In each country, however, the consensus
will be somewhat different, depending on whether
you are an Anglophile or a Francophile.
Good taste also is confused with popular taste.
The risk with popular taste is that it can become
narrow and restrictive. What looks great this
year, looks numb next year.
Perhaps that is where the antique dealer gets
beyond the issue of taste, and focuses on the
issues of artistic merit, authenticity and dating.
Something to think about, that in a business that
is more art then science, the price of being a
knowledgeable dealer or collector is knowing that
much of what you see is not nearly so grand, or
important, or genuine as the owner is inclined
to believe.
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