Asianart.com | Associations | Articles | Exhibitions | Galleries

Hello
Recently i bought few Japanese hanging scrolls, thinking about startin a collection. While looking online I noticed the very wide price range, from around 10$-15$ on ebay to 1500$ on a couple of art sites. I'm talking only about hand painted scrolls, mostly sensui and flowers. Almost all of the sites claim the scrolls to be made in early to mid 20'th century. I understnd offcourse that the price may differ drasticly from artist to artist, but is there any other reason that scrolls from the same period, of more or less the same quality would cover such a price range?
Thanks in advance.

lots of possible reasons, one being that sellers charge whatever they can get away with. another may be that you are not yet aware of differences in quality between the pictures you are looking at. there are good deals to be found on ebay from sellers in Japan for genuine works by anonymous/minor artists, some due to sometimes very minor damage that renders them unappealing to Japanese buyers. trying looking more things before buying.

Much depends upon one's perception of "more or less the same quality." Consider why Rembrandt's or Vermeer's contemporaries are not valued as highly in the monetary sense, even when painting roughly in the same styles. So many factors, including the viewer's own sense of magic emerging from the surface.

There is no way on such a forum as this to begin to describe artistic aesthetics that have been studied for decades or centuries.

Some consider themselves adequately knowledgeable after a few decades of study. Others only consider themselves discovering the depth of ignorance after a lifetime.

If you do not plan to engage in intensive art-study, just buy the best you can afford among items you like. An accumulation of exhibition catalogs may begin to influence your preferences.

Asianart.com | Associations | Articles | Exhibitions | Galleries |