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I belong to several antique discussion groups,and the members are pretty responsive to my questions-not always accurate, but at least they engage.
Why is the participation rate here so low ?
PS-Granted,we don't want screaming inane Trolls blathering away-but it seems the discourse here should be plentiful-responses of 0 to 2 or 3 seem quite low IMHO considering this is one of the webs premiere Asian art forums.Any other FB groups recommended ?

You're right, this forum, as great as it is, unfortunately has a very low response rate. Perhaps this is because many of the experts who used to answer questions here with advice and enthusiasm are no longer active. The reader numbers show that the forum is still consulted a lot. However, perhaps there are not as many people who dare to express their opinions on Asian objects anymore. Perhaps they feel that they do not know enough or have enough experience with objects to be able to contribute anything. But that is not necessary at all. If we want to keep this forum alive, then a first step would be to encourage more people to contribute their opinions (whether justified or unjustified). Perhaps we could also publish a few objects from museums and private collections again without attaching any questions to them, simply to train the eye. That would make this forum a great resource again. But to do that, we all need to get involved. A more intensive discussion of technical issues would be desirable, especially one that goes beyond ‘What is this strange thing worth?’

Unfortunately, I am not on Facebook and therefore cannot name any free forums. But if you know of any, feel free to list a few here.

With kind regards

Madria

Yes Madria- This forum need more participants because internationally folks are finding quite interesting Asian & other ethnographic pieces of art every day and they don't know where to turn ?
I agree-just because some doesn't have a PHD or work at the British Museum, doesn't mean they can't participate.Feel free to share impressions or guesses-it's fun & intriguing-DON'T be scared !
PS-The other Forum I use is antiquers.com The folks are friendly and courteous-we need your wisdom there too.

I am not sure what you are expecting from this site. Most people come here to get a question answered (Who is the artist of this work? Can you translate this text? Is this an original?). Generally, it only takes one or two responses to answer a question.

Thanks Stan-I am getting responses now, and I appreciate it.Just getting had an attack of internet impatience.
PS-But perhaps a few of our senior knowledgeable participants aren't here quite as much lately ?
Most precious of course are the experienced Translators w/ the ability to understand the historical context or iteration of a piece,ie: is this an 1st generation dynastic original,or a 2nd,3rd gen copy/tribute piece,

because a fair number of people who post to this board have no interest in contributing knowledge or discussing art, only in asking others to answer their questions or in reselling whatever they happen to have acquired. similar dynamics can be seen in FB groups that aren't mostly comprised of collectors with similar interests.

I. Nagy is a saint for responding to so many low-quality posts and inquiries; if s/he left, the board would be moribund within weeks.

Ditto Rat-The majority of inquiries on antique & collectible forums are-'Is my thrift,garage sale junk worth money ?'asked by hit & run pickers who score big once a year or decade.
Really competent translators who also have extensive knowledge of historical context of a piece can't bother with the landslide of crap that shows up online.
Mr. I Nagy does sound like a saint !

yes, but is ascribing a motive which some might feel is impure necessarily fair? discussion forums should exist for the purpose of increasing knowledge. no one can say how many third parties might benefit additionally from information shared here.

That's a good point Jim.As the premiere site for Asian Art discussion-this could also become an even more effective study center,or combination library & discussion center for research & debate
into all forms of Asian art.
This is the one of (or the) top site i usually get when i google Asian art & artifacts.
Many people come here that don't know the difference between a plate from Costco & one from the Ming Dynasty.
This can be an annoying nuisance,but also an opportunity to teach.

Good points, and exactly why it behooves those wanting to benefit from the information that experts have to share to provide those experts a reason to stick around and share it. Simply showing up with "Need info" and "Translate mark please" doesn't do that.

Can't disagree,but many folks are 1000 percent in the dark re Asian Art.Perhaps a good way to get mercy is to do a bit of study first-then attempt to ask semi-intelligent questions.
PS-The worst question is - 'What's it worth ?'. Super turn-off to serious scholars and collectors who'd kind of consider that opening query rather 'barbaric' or at least low-brow.

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