A brisk mid-winter walk through the streets of lower Manhattan eventually led me under the iconic Romanesque arch that stands at the center of Washington Square. To my left, a uniformly-pristine row of Federalist-era, brick-and-columned town houses, standing like monuments to another, more gentile time. Over the years, NYU’s bustling urban academic community has emerged nearby. I first met Professor Moses in a small office, stacked high with art auction catalogues, at the University’s Stern School of Business, close to the epicenter of campus.    

 Opening Image (left):  All works pictured subject to Mei-Moses ® index analysis: J.M.W. Turner, Giudecca la Donna Della Salute and San Giorgio (1830-41). Category: Old Masters/19^th Century; Sales History (1897) $35,000; (2006) $35.8M. Annual Return on Investment (ROI) for 109 yrs, +6%.    

Overview    

My journey began with an invitation to travel to the city to learn more about the Mei-Moses® index, a cumulative, 13-year data set that has emerged as a reliable predictor for art portfolio development and investment planning strategies. Their objective in this project is to help prospective art buyers to move out of the purely emotional realm of ‘buy what you love’ into more objective criteria. Moses explains to me that, “the emotions that guide a purchase should not be discounted or dismissed, but to be aware that there is additional data available, before making a purchase at auction, that the potential buyer may want to factor in.” He point out that his Index is aimed at the following: fine arts magazine   

–Comparing art to other asset classes (stocks, bonds, real estate, other collectable);    

–Providing insights on financial performance of the art market, updated annually, while acquiring art for a portfolio;    

–Offering a tool to evaluate the role of art in overall wealth management and asset allocation;    

–Providing instant “mark to market” art valuations, with interim quarterly updates;    

–Evaluating market adjusted rates-of-return for individual, established artists.    

Titian, A Sacred Conversation-The Madonna and Child with St. Luke & Catherine of Alexandria. Category: Old Masters/19th Century; Sales History (1954) $1,632; Resale (2011) $16.9M. Annual ROI for 57 yrs, +17.6%.

 Since 1999, Moses and his colleague at New York University’s Stern School of Business, Jianping Mei, now Professor of Finance at Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, in Beijing, have been compiling data that allows them to track the long-term performance of fine art. Their goal: to correctly analyze financial returns available on the art market. “It is important to remember,” says Professor Moses, “that art prices are ‘wealth bound’—the viability of a deal hinges on the size of the offer. Our model tracks those offers over time for ‘repeat pairs’; that is, the same item coming to market again, even years or decades later.”    

The Mei-Moses® indexes focus on mature artists whose works command prices from tens-of-thousands to millions of dollars at auction. They take the original purchase price at auction any place in the world and then the most recent sales price at Christie’s or Sotheby’s in New York and calculate an annual return for a single painting. This ‘repeat-pair’ method is key to their approach; i.e.- how an identifiable art work performs when it is brought to auction twice, with a minimum of one year lapse between sales. So, for example, a J.M.W. Turner view of Venice sold at auction at Christie’s in London on May 29, 1897, for $35,000 and then sold at Christies in New York in 2006 for $35.8 million—which yields about a 6 percent annual return for 109 years—an impressive return, in addition to the joy of ownership, for the generations who may have owned it during that period.    

Jacob Toorenvliet, Rabbinical Discussion. Category: Old Masters/19th Century; Sales History (1996) $18,400; Resale (2011) $104,500. Annual ROI for 15 yrs, +12.3%.

 To date, Mei-Moses® (with recent help from the ‘European Fine Art Database’) has compiled 26,000 such repeat-sale pairs, adding approximately 2000 incremental pairs annually, from recent auction transaction, for their ever-expanding indexes. Professor Moses explains that their data is based exclusively on Sotheby’s and Christie’s auction results, given that they represent established, recognized artists. They have broken out the historical periods of art being bought and sold into five over-arching collecting categories: beginning with Old Masters/19th century; Impressionist/Modern, American before 1950. They later added Post-War/Contemporary and Latin American works, the result of more adequate data in these last two categories becoming available for the period, 1988-2009.    

Where the rubber meets the road for the Mei-Moses Indexes is putting them to work in the competitive field of investment advisory and planning, exploring ways in which their indexes can influence buy-hold decisions, maximizing rate-of-return, while limiting down-side risk. Moses tells me that the auction market is the best setting to consider the investment potential for art, because of its ‘transparency’. “In an auction environment, buyer demand sets the value of a piece. The house or the seller may set a reserve, but, if it doesn’t sell, then it’s considered a non-revenue event, or marketplace failure. We only count successful transactions and, unlike a gallery, collection owner, or artist, setting a retail price that they believe the market will bear (‘non-transparency’), a successful auction sale is a true measure of value—a market-tested exercise in supply and demand. There are strong parallels to the stock market, here. If a stock is placed on the block for sale, with a limit order price, and it doesn’t sell, then it’s a non-event. Only when that stock sells at a price that reflects demand, does it become a financial event we can evaluate. For this reason (and others), the correlation between stocks, bonds and commodities becomes a powerful comparative tool for modeling the auction art market,” Moses says.    

But, unlike stocks and bonds, works of art are one-of-a-kind and need to be looked at on that basis. The closest existing model that accounts for the heterogeneity, or unique features of a sale item, is real estate. Moses explains that, “a new apartment building may offer a hundred units for sale, but some are higher up, some low, some face the city skyline, others the parking lot, and so forth. In other words—not all units in the building are comparable. The other factor to consider is supply and demand; that is, how many buyers and sellers are in the market at any one time. We all know that markets, and therefore pricing, are influenced by ‘bust and boom’ periods. These features affect asking price and ultimately, sale and resale price. We believe that the only relevant way to track the viability of money spent in a situation like that is to develop an Index that accounts for the individuality of unique objects, like residential real estate and art. The commonality between the two is due to the infrequency of trading and differences in the characteristics of the objects that come to market, from period-to-period.”    

Right: Clara Peeters, Still Life with Fish […] and Cat on Ledge. Category: Old Masters/19^th Century; Sales History (2008) $162,205; Resale (2011) $68,500. Annual ROI for 3 yrs, -25%.   

Thus for art and real estate, an index based on average prices over a period of time may be more dependent on the mix of objects that come to market rather than changes in the underlying market itself. A database of repeat sales of the same object resolves this issue. Thus, the statistical methodology used to create the Mei-Moses® indexes is similar to that developed by Professors Case and Shiller for their residential real estate index, published by Standard and Poor’s.    

As noted, to insure transparency (free-market pricing) for the Mei-Moses® indexes, only data from public auction results are collected. “We have looked at the New York art market, from Sotheby’s and Christie’s auction houses, starting our analysis with data from 1925, since that is the start date for the S&P 500 total return index, which we use for comparison purposes. For the five major art-collecting categories: Old Masters/19th century; Impressionist/Modern; American before 1950; Post-War/Contemporary and Latin American, we search the current sale catalogues for items that have sold. For those items which also have a listed prior-auction sale, we use our best research efforts to obtain the consummated prior sale price at any auction house, any place in the world and at any date. If the object has been held for at least a year and we have successfully found both the sale and purchase prices, including the relevant buyer’s premium, we include it in our database. Thus, we introduce no subjective sample selection bias.” Moses explains. “We start our current annual All Art index with data available from 1925. This index explains approximately 70% of the variability of a measure of the underlying returns of the objects on which it is based.”    

Pablo Picasso, Nature morte a la guitar, bouteille, verre de vin et journal. Category: Impressionist/Modern; Sales History (2007) $816,172; Resale (2011) $387,500. Annual ROI for 4 yrs, -17%.

 The compiled information allows for the creation of annual indexes for each of these period-specific collecting categories, as well as the All Art index. The data also allows Mei-Moses to develop insights into the factors that drive returns for individual or groups of objects. They also use the indices to undertake asset allocation studies, including art, as well as making available a ‘mark to market’ art valuation service. In 2009 they introduced a new feature allowing for the comparison of returns across important and highly traded artists.    

Modeling for Success    

Joan Miro, Tete bleue et oiseau fleche. Category: Impressionist/Modern; Sales History (2004) $621,758; (2011) $2.76M. Annual ROI for 7 yrs, +23.8%.

 The average investor maintains a diversified portfolio of equities (stocks), bonds of various types, commodities such as gold and cash in ratios that reflect desired return in exchange for exposure to risk. These investment instruments are considered ‘liquid’, because they can readily be converted into currency. Real estate, art and other collectables are ‘illiquid’ because the conversion cycle to currency is slower and product performance (average price) tends to be dependent on the mix of objects (supply) that come to market at any given time, as well as demand at the time (examples: the downward pressure on existing housing prices, given the number of foreclosures on the market today; the upward pressure on selected artists’ auction prices during periods when their work is in demand). “We were curious to see what would happen if we included relatively illiquid assets in a comprehensive portfolio management strategy. Our modeling assumed that, along with stocks, etc., most sophisticated investors would also own real estate as part of a long-term asset acquisition program. With the inclusion of the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. Residential Real Estate Index and the Mei-Moses® art indexes, we could now foresee a means to incorporate art, along with other asset classes into a typical portfolio. We regularly evaluate rate-of- return, risk and correlation among other assets, over many time periods and holding periods. This detailed analysis allows investment advisors to have the analytical tools to guide their clients with a reasoned strategy for buying art or expanding an existing collection,” Moses says.    

The beauty and uniqueness of art as an asset class is that it offers the individual three distinct ways to reap the pleasure and excitement from ownership. The incomparable beauty and emotional appeal of art ownership is the first and most obvious one, especially when those works become part of one’s home or office setting. The second factor is the enjoyment most individuals derive from the process of seeking out and acquiring art. This includes, but is not limited to, knowledge acquisition, socialization with like-minded collectors and experts, the excitement of the chase, meeting artists and visiting studios, etc.    

The third beauty of art is its longevity and financial performance. For more than three millennia art has always been an important part of our cultural heritage. The passage of time is a key component to the analysis performed by the Mei-Moses® index. For each index, art’s relative performance is based on the historical time period under consideration. For example over the last fifty years the Mei Moses® All Art Index (a summary of the five categories under examination) and the S&P 500 Total Return Stock Index have had approximately-equal compound annual returns. The art index has underperformed the equity index for the last 25 years. Over the last five and ten year periods, art has significantly outperformed equities. “However,” Professor Moses explains, “for almost all these time periods, art has higher volatility and lower liquidity than most other financial assets. Conversely, art has low correlation with other asset classes and thus may play a role in portfolio diversification.”    

Joan Miro, Westvaco. Category: Impressionism/Modern; Sales History (2001) $32,950; (2011) $194,700. Annual ROI for 10 yrs, +19.4%.

 The paintings in the index aren’t all blockbusters. Moses estimates that the median size of recent transactions charted is about $200,000 or $300,000. As their most recent update shows, over the last 50 years, stocks (as represented by the S&P 500) returned 10.9 percent annually, while the art index returned 10.5 percent per annum. And in the five-to-ten years, art outperformed stocks. But not all art performs equally. In recent years, Old Masters haven’t done so well, while Post-War/Contemporary art before 1950 has been soaring—up 25.2 percent in the last year alone. And across categories, masterpieces tend to underperform lower-priced paintings by a substantial margin. Why? Like blue-chip stocks, well-known paintings by blue-chip artists are known quantities and offer safety and stability and their importance was well-known when they were previously purchased at auction. As with stocks, the greatest opportunity for growth in art values comes when investors suddenly focus their attention on a hot new sector or name. But Moses points out that it is not necessary to seek out the latest ‘hot artists’ in order to do well; the broader Mei-Moses® art indexes have historically generated returns that make them of interest in asset allocation.    

As noted above, there are some obvious differences between Van Gogh canvases and Verizon shares, having to do with liquidity. Art is far less liquid than stocks: You can’t simply push a button and sell a Picasso tomorrow. And while you might assume that the fortunes of the art market are closely tied to the fortunes of the stock market, Moses found that fine art actually has a very low correlation with stocks and a negative correlation with bonds. “In some sense, it’s a good portfolio diversifier,” says Moses.    

Like stocks, art is susceptible to fits of irrational exuberance. In 1990, Japanese executive Ryoei Saito capped off the Impressionist art bubble by paying an impressive $82.5 million for Vincent Van Gogh’s Portrait of Dr. Gachet. Between 1985 and 1990, the Mei-Moses® art index returned about 30 percent/ year—the same unsustainable rate at which the Nikkei grew in that period and at which the S&P 500 grew in the second half of the 1990s. Despite today’s huge prices, Moses notes, the mood surrounding the art market is nowhere near as exuberant as it was when Western Europe’s economic largess was flooding into Japanese corporate board rooms in the late ’80s.    

Critical Issues: Professor Moses Responds    

The Mei-Moses index methodology is not without potential shortcomings. Observers in the ‘art-as-asset’ world are quick to point out that the Mei-Moses indexes:    

Heinz Mack, Lichtpyramide. Category: Post War/Contemporary; Sales History (2005) $6596; (2011) $108,945. Annual ROI for 6 yrs, +59.6%.

1) Do not account for private treaty sales, a small, but important part of the secondary sales art market. Response: “True, but since there is no sale or purchase price transparency who is to judge whether the information being provided is factual and not subject to selection bias (stressing winners over losers) by the reporting firm.”    

2) Do not account for buyer and seller transaction costs in an auction house setting. Response: “True, but we started with the premise that we wanted to determine the return based on what willing buyers over time had paid for an object. Thus our return values are the upper estimate on net returns. In addition we should point out that we compare our results to those of the total return index for the S&P 500 where dividends are reinvested tax free and does not account for transaction cost which are diminemus now but were much more substantial years ago. Research has show that over long periods of time from 1/3 to ½ of the total return of the S&P 500 is provided by the reinvested dividends. However the round trip transaction cost of some 20-30% will substantially reduce short term holding period returns, making day trading all but impossible, but since the average holding period in our database is over twenty years our research shows that the average reduction caused by transaction cost reduces annual returns by less than one percent.”    

3) The indexes don’t consider art that comes to market, but doesn’t sell. Response. “True, but no one knows if this causes negative returns or positive returns that were just not sufficient to induce the owner to part with the work. We also fail to capture the returns of works the currently sell but had not sold the previous time it was offered. These would tend to offset some of the supposed negative bias of the works that did not sell. We also cannot study works of art that are not subject to public transparency.”    

Lucio Fontana, Untitled. Category: Post War/Contemporary; Sales History (2007) $50,173; (2011) $99,225. Annual ROI for 4 yrs, +18.6%.

4) That the implied returns of art ownership don’t adequately account for costs related to art ownership: insurance, storage, transport, conservation, and the like. Response: “True, but these costs for most collectors are deminimus. Insurance is less than ¼ of a percent in most residential settings. Most collectors store what they own on the walls of their own dwellings. These costs are also small compared to the management fee charged in many equity accounts.”    

5) That the database doesn’t account for the pieces that fail to sell on the auction block and are quietly unloaded for a loss in private sales, similar to those works previously addressed in issue #3!  Response:  “Additionlly however, we also do not study works that were bought at auction many years ago and are then given to museums.  These would tend to have high returns and tend to mitigate any of the downside of works that are dumped in private sales.  Once again however we cannot study what is not knowable and where there is no price transparency and potential selection bias.”     

6) That art is purely aesthetic and has no underlying value (like a stock’s corporate earnings) to insure performance over time and that art is subject to the whim of society’s taste-makers and therefore, is difficult to reliably evaluate, using standard metrics. Response: “Art is like gold which has very little underlying value and pays no dividend. Most of gold’s price is based on its supposed hedge against inflation or based on speculation. Our database of over 26,000 pairs over 150 years incorporates changes in style and whims over time since we have pairs that were part of every changing environment. Also for the last 3000 years there has always been, somewhere in the world, rich individuals who were exhibiting their wealth through the size of the domiciles and the art and furnishings that adorned it.”    

Lucio Fontana, Concetto Spaziale. Category: Post War/Contemporary; Sales History (2006) $2.7M; (2011) $4.4 M. Annual ROI for 5 yrs, +10%.

In addition, Moses responds to all of these objections by pointing to his enormous data base. “26,000 repeat sale pairs cannot be considered an unrepresentative sample of what has gone on in the knowable part of the art market over the last 200 years. Not every stock that has a limit order on it, sells. In that case, my expectation as the seller is not satisfied. Why do we expect something different from the art market? We do not make the financial markets clear these limit orders at the end of the day; why should we force that on the art market? We eliminate selection bias by not just focusing on the high-priced ‘winners’ in the auction market, or the artistic superstars. By focusing on the ‘S & P’ of the art market, we capture performance data for 90% of the mature artists, whose work comes into the two major auction houses in the world and track their performance on a matched pair basis only. Not only are we comparing apples-to-apples, we are looking at the same apple, with a prior auction record, as it returns to the auction block after a minimum of one year in ownership hands. We eliminate quick turn-around, ‘day-traders’, where the owner is going for quick profit in an overheated market,” Moses emphasizes. “Our goal was to demonstrate that the broad auction market had sufficient financial performance as a whole, and did not require the collector’s ability to choose the outperformers to gain sufficient returns, to make art pay in a well-balanced, optimally-designed wealth portfolio.”    

As a result, Mei-Moses® can look at long-term performance for art as a legitimate part of a diversified portfolio that are realistic and achievable in the market. “Over the years, with the usual ups and downs, art performs at an average 9% rate-of-return. Some indexes claim 12, 15 or even 18% rates of return, but we have found those models to be flawed,” he tells me. “We believe that the only place to achieve this kind of return is in an auction environment, where the informed buyer observes one simple rule: the best returns, on average, are achieved when you never buy a work of art for more than the index-inflated price from the last sale—never buy a work of art for more than the index inflated price from the last sale. Knowing your facts, keeping emotions in check and flying by this rule will maximize (knowing there is no guarantee of future performance) your chances of doing well in a leveled playing field.”    

Lucian Freud, Self-Portrait. Category: Post war/Contemporary; Sales History (1992) $151,536; (2011) $5.26M. Annual ROI for 17 yrs, +20.5%.

Over the last ten years, the risk—or down-side exposure—associated with the Mei Moses® All Art index is less than that of the S&P 500 total return index, 14.4% vs. 20.4% respectively, and 17.6% vs. 18.3% respectively, over the last 25 years. We think this was caused by art’s methodical rise since the late 1990s, after a pronounced downturn in the early 1990s and then another pronounced drop and recovery over the last three years. Contrast this with stocks meteoric rise of the late 1990s and a slow recovery after the 2000-2002 down-turn, followed by substantial increases for a brief period, until the dramatic decline of 2008, returned it to 1997 levels, followed by last year’s recovery and a continuation of solid gains in 2011.    

However the downside risk for the equity index over the last 50 years, 17.2%, is slightly better than the art index, 17.8%. Over the past three years our results show that there has been a substantial reduction in the 50 year historic lower risk of equities over art (from a difference of 3-5% to the current 0.6%). The very low correlation factor between the art and stock/bond indexes for the last 50 and 25 years respectively indicated that art may play a positive role in investment portfolio diversification.    

“We are confident about the strength of our model after so many years and with so many repeat-sales pairs (26,000, to date with 2000 more added/year),” Moses explains. “Buying art for love is a perfectly understandable motivation, but the question has to be asked, ‘How much is love costing you?’ Approaching the purchase experience objectively doesn’t have to diminish the emotional charge that comes from acquiring art. Understand the metrics and variables that will increase the likelihood that your investment will hold its own over time. Know that masterpieces are exciting to consider, but are likely to underperform for the vast majority of buyers, over time. Focus on the mid-range, mature artistic community; buy at auction; which is the only truly democratic way to evaluate pricing dynamics; know the limit of value for each piece you bid—don’t bid beyond the index-adjusted purchase price from the last sale of that work of art; recognize that there is a painting for every purse and just because you didn’t pay too much for a painting doesn’t mean it won’t yield either joy or return-on-investment in the long run.”    

www.artasanasset.com -The Mei-Moses® Art Indexes© Web Site Summary    

Ross Bleckner, Untitled. Category: Post War/Contemporary; Sales History (2008) $49,900; Resale (2011) $16,200. Annual ROI for 2 yrs, -36.2%.

The Home page allows access to a selection of articles and interviews involving the Mei Moses® indexes and research results of Beautiful Asset Advisors®. Several thousand articles have appeared, using Mei-Moses® data since it first became available in 2001. A complete list can be found (enter “mei moses” as the preferred search object).    

The Home page also allows access to reactions to Mei-Moses® index research and to the website from art, insurance and financial market participants. Also, frequently asked questions (FAQ’s), such as: Why only use auction information? Why use a repeat sale methodology? Dealing with works that do not sell at auction; developing the optimal collecting category; lists of representative artists from each collecting category are also provides, as well as contact information and bios for the principals.    

Once on the useful Home Page of Mei-Moses®, Beautiful Asset Advisory, LLC, the website is organized into five additional sections:    

The Market Insights section contains the annual updates of our analysis of the New York auction market covering returns, risk, and correlation performance for art, as compared to other assets. It will also contain tracking reports issued in early April, July and November of each year, describing the progress of the market within that current calendar year. Any special research reports that might be of interest to subscribers, such as the analysis of financial performance of Matisse and Picasso created some years ago, during their combined show in New York, or the current relationship among art, equities and real estate, can be found there.    

Francis Picabia, Tete de Chat. Category: Post War/Contemporary; Sales History (1998) $3,612; Resale (2011) $19,000. Annual ROI for 12.5 yrs, +14.2%.

The Index Data section contains graphs for the All Art Index since 1875. Graphs for the All Art Index, as well as most of the collecting category indexes for the last fifty years are also available (Old Masters/ 19th century; Impressionist/Modern; American before 1950; Post-War/ Contemporary and Latin American [most recently, data on the traditional Chinese art market has been added]). Graphs for indexes based on special studies will also be available such as the one we created based on our analysis of purchase price and performance.    

The Asset Allocation Studies section analyzes the benefits of a diversified portfolio, including art. The risk-return tradeoffs of including art in a varied portfolio of stocks, bonds, cash and gold are illustrated. The section also visually demonstrates the optimal allocation percentages to these asset classes, at various return levels. Also demonstrated are optimal portfolio results for individuals with a fixed pre-existing art collection. The user gets to choose which art assets to include and which historical time period to use for historical performance.    

The Art Valuation section allows the user to employ an applicable Mei Moses® art index and a user-designated prior-purchase price or appraisal value to create a personalized current “mark to market” valuation level, based on art market changes over the intervening time period. This methodology may be useful in creating art valuations for potential object sales or insurance valuations of existing works in a collection, or price estimates for proposed current purchases at auction or from a dealer. Individual subscribers will be entitled to an unlimited number of valuations, per year, for their own non-commercial, personal use. Daily restrictions may apply however based on total volume of traffic.    

Andy Warhol, Mick Jagger. Category: Post War/Contemporary; Sales History (2006) $1.46M; (2011) $1.41M. Annual ROI for 5 yrs, -0.7%.

The Artist Returns section, new in 2009, provides information on the returns achieved at auction for the works of each of the 150 artist with the largest number of repeat auction sales represented in ‘repeat sale’ database. This is in the process of becoming the most comprehensive analysis of individual artist returns available anywhere. For each artist graphed, the compound annual return (CAR) of each repeat-sale pair, as a function of the year the work was purchased, is presented. Also provided are summary statistics on the mean and standard deviation of the CAR for all repeat-sale pairs, for works by these artists.    

The CARs for individual artists are not comparable because the repeat sale pairs have different ownership dates and holding periods. To enable an appropriate comparison between and among artists, we normalize the returns for each artist’s works relative to the broader market. We calculate the excess return for each repeat sale pair as the difference between the CAR of that pair and the CAR for our all art index over the same holding period, and calculate the summary statistics (mean, standard deviation) of the excess returns for all the repeat sale pairs of each of the artists analyzed.    

Recommendations to Portfolio Managers and Investors    

Investment advisors, typically unacquainted with the complex forces at play in the art world tend to shy away from discussions with their clients on the topic of their present art holdings or the reality of factoring in art acquisition as an integral part of their portfolio and wealth-building strategy for the future. Approaching the topic of art as an integral part of a diversified portfolio means having the confidence to engage in a meaningful discussion of the financial ramifications of the art he/she currently holds or is thinking of buying, knowing that there are tools available to help guide the process.    

Most high net worth clients will have some form of art as part of their holdings, along with other illiquid categories like real estate and other collectables (watches, cars, fine wines, etc.). Assisting the client to consider art as an important diversification strategy, by accounting for works of art currently owned, along with a proposed strategy for acquiring more art, while mitigating risk and building a realistic ROI, is an important way to strengthen the manager-client relationship. Mei-Moses® indexes provide a reliable and practical means to that end.    

By Richard Friswell, Executive Editor    

Jianping Mei, Ph.D. is a professor at the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business in Beijing, China, and co-founder of Beautiful Asset Advisors®, LLC; previously he was an associate professor of finance at New York University’s Stern School of Business.    

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 Michael Moses, Ph.D. is a co-founder of Beautiful Asset Advisors®, LLC; previously he was an associate professor of management and operations management at Stern School of Business.    

Editor’s note: This recent update appears on the Mei-Moses® Web site. Go to their helpful site for additional timely information: www.artasanasset.com. Readers may also want to request a free re-print of an article recently published in The Journal of Investment Consulting, entitled, “Wealth Management for Collectors” (2010). Contact Mei-Moses at support@artasanasset.com.     

CONTINUED FOURTH QUARTER INCREASES FOR MOST COLLECTING CATEGORIES ALLOWS THE MEI MOSES® ALL ART INDEX TO ACHIEVE AN ANNUAL RETURN OF 16.6% REVERSING THE ART MARKET SWOON OF LAST YEAR AND SURPASSING THE 15.06% INCREASE IN S&P 500 TOTAL RETURN INDEX FOR 2010©    

The 2009 decrease in the return of the Mei Moses® All Art index of approximately 23.5 percent was the largest decline in the all art index since the 1991 decline of 38.7 percent. The latter decline occurred after the bursting of the art bubble of 1985-1990. The 23.5% was the second largest decline since the great depression. The declines of 2008 and 2009 occurred after five years of positive annual growth averaging almost 20 percent. The 2010 results, an increase of 16.6%, has stopped this slide and may be the start of a new base building period for the auction art market. These results have allowed the all art index to slightly outperform the results for the of the S&P 500 total return index (where dividends are reinvested tax free) of 15.06%. In addition the most recent ten and five year compound annual returns (CAR) for art, 4.86% and 3.59%, exceed the S&P returns of, 1.35% and 2.28% respectively. Stocks outperformed art over the last twenty five years with a CAR of 9.91 percent compared to 6.43 percent for art. However, for the last fifty years the returns were very close with art achieving a CAR of 9.23% compared to the 9.73% for equities.   

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Additional Reading Material:    

Mei, Jianping & Moses, Michael. Art as an Investment and the Underperformance of Masterpieces. The American Economic Review, pgs 1656-1668, 2002.    

Mei, Jianping & Moses, Michael. Vested Interest and Biased Price Estimates: Evidence from the Auction Market, The Journal of Finance, V. IX, No. 5, pgs 2409-2435, October 2006    

Mei, Jianping & Moses, Michael. Wealth Management for Collectors. The Journal of Investment Consulting, pgs 50-59, 2010.    

Mei, Jianping & Moses, Michael. 2010 Year-End Market Insights Based on Mei-Moses Art Indexes. New York: ©Beautiful Asset Advisors, 2011.

Traditional & Contemporary side-by-side at recent fashion event, with student-designer,Varshaben Uttambhai (left)

Editor’s Note: The western-most district of Kutch, in the state of Gujarat is one of the most ecologically and ethnically diverse districts in India.  Close to the Pakistan border and subject to a massive earthquake in 2001, the people have a reputation for strength and resilience. Kutch is a celebrated for its art, crafts, music, dance, people and nature. A plethora of brilliant hues, profusion of design, superfluity of culture, a cornucopia of music and dance— together in the arid lands of Kutch—creates a mosaic of culture and design tradition which reflects the identity and spirit of the region.   

At the forefront of present-day Indian culture is the convergence of the traditional and the modern. This phenomenon affects issues from politics to religion to the arts as people strive to move forward economically and professionally while maintaining their heritage, identity, and individuality. A pursuit exists for a balance between what was and what is, especially for those with a direct link to tradition. In Kutch, where the legacy of intricate embroidery stretches back centuries and is still visible in the everyday dress of its residents, the past stands arm in arm with the present. fine arts magazine

The survival of Kutchi art depends on the combination of the two, and the successful artist is the one who is able to work with a connection to both worlds. For the traditional artisans of Kala Raksha (literally “Art Preservation”) located near the regional capital of Bhuj, the idea of Artisan Design combines the old and the new in a way that allows them to sustain the essence of their craft while competing in the international market and ever-evolving world of fashion design. 

A Kala Raksha coordinatior, Pabiben Lakhman, displays examples of colorful 'Rabari' embroidery

Historically, Indian art made no distinction between craft and design. The traditional artisan would create, from beginning to end, a product reflecting the lifestyle and environment of that individual. Artisan Design is a trademark that celebrates the traditional artisan’s autonomy over his/her artistic expression. It ensures that every product bearing its symbol is conceived, constructed, and priced by the artisan, and in doing so provides rural artisans the opportunity to succeed in a market where designers, laborers, and merchants work separately for disproportionate compensation. Artisan Design is the driving force behind the Kala Raksha Vidhyalaya (the nation’s first design school for artisans, located near the Gulf of Kutch), now beginning its sixth year of classes. At the school, students from the region learn to incorporate each aspect of the trade so that they may not only continue to grow within their medium, but may also receive appropriate compensation and gain respect and social status within their communities.   

Kala Raksha's universally popular, Pabi-bags

Lachuben Raja, a Rabari embroiderer with no formal education, graduated from the Vidhyalaya in 2006 (and has been a coordinator with Kala Raksha since 1994). She has taught embroidery at the US Embassy School in Delhi and has traveled to Australia and the United States for exhibitions, workshops, and seminars. This level of artisan involvement is unique to Kala Raksha and is a revolutionary step in modern business, where the division of labor often comes at the expense of traditional artists; it helps the artisan avoid marginalization as well as promotes their creative expression, which in turn introduces innovative products to the public.   

Graduating student, Salmabai Ismailbhai, makes a presentation

While mass production tends to flood the market with impersonal merchandise, Artisan Design ensures a close relationship between producer and consumer. The artist studies the trends of the market, develops and enhances those trends, while applying his/her creative perspectives, and ultimately delivers fairly-priced products to buyers who may be assured of each item’s authenticity. This model is best exemplified by the success of another Kala Raksha coordinator, Pabiben Lakhman (above), whose use of the art form Hari Jari led her to create the now world-renowned Pabi-Bag. The rampant success of this bag has landed it in Hollywood and Bollywood films alike, and the public’s constant and seemingly ceaseless demand for it has made it a staple at every Kala Raksha exhibition.   

Artisan Design benefits traditional artisans from a variety of backgrounds. Salmabai Ismailbhai, a Jat embroiderer, also grew up without a formal education. She learned the basic skills of embroidery by watching her mother and grandfather (Kala Raksha contributors themselves), and when she enrolled at the Vidhyalaya, she blossomed as both artist and individual. Shedding her initial timidity, she graduated in 2009, winning the award for Most Promising Artisan for her fresh garment collection. She learned to read and write through Kala Raksha’s basic education classes, and she now claims, “My art is my livelihood, my capability, and a means to independence.”   

A Vashaben Uttambhai design on the runway

The Vidhyalaya has provided similar opportunities to Suf embroiderer Varshaben Uttambhai. A resident of Sumraser-Sheikh (home of the Kala Raksha Trust), Varshaben completed her formal education through the seventh grade, yet turned to embroidery when she was unable to continue her schooling in the nearby city of Bhuj. Since graduating from the Vidhyalaya in 2008, she has participated in exhibitions in Delhi, Mumbai, and Ahmedabad, and she believes that an increase in the creativity of her designs will result in a higher demand for Suf products in the future. The Artisan Design philosophy supports these women to flourish artistically and economically as they surpass the limitations of those from similar backgrounds to realize a new level of personal creativity, self-worth, and social standing.   

Designer Suleman (R) takes a bow at recent Kala Raksha Design School event

Suleman Umarfaruqbhai Khatri, on the other hand, came to Kala Raksha from a somewhat different angle. Having become disenchanted with the troubling ethics of a career in law, he chose to return to the family art of Bandhani and partnered his valuable business experience with his brother’s skill for craft. He realized that art must change with the times, and now, after studying the art himself, he and his brother work to bring the traditional into the modern. He exemplifies the evolved artisan whose success depends as much on the knowledge of the market’s fluctuations as on the intricacies of the craft.   

In the arena of traditional arts, any form of stagnation will soon render a medium antique. The market is worldwide, and in order to compete and thrive in such an environment, the artist must become worldwide as well. The challenge put forth to traditional artisans is to adapt to the requisite changes while maintaining the cultural and individual identities that continue to serve as the foundation of their art. Artisan Design guarantees artisans the opportunity to benefit from their own creative exploration, the result of which is to provide the market with Fair-Trade products that fuse together the most desirable traits of tradition and innovation.   

By Ben Bellizzi, Guest Contributor 

To learn more about Kala Raksha and see ‘global village’ products for sale, go to: www.equalcraft.com  

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FYI:  Kutch district (also spelled, Kachchh) is district of Gujarat state in western India. Covering an area of 45,612 km², it is the largest district of India.   

Kutch district embroiderers (including Lachuben Raja, right) plying their craft

The district is also famous for ecologically important Banni grasslands with their seasonal marshy wetlands which form the outer belt of the Rann of Kutch.  

Kachchh literally means something which intermittently becomes wet and dry; a large part of this district is known as Rann of Kachchh which is shallow wetland which submerges in water during the rainy season and becomes dry during other seasons. The same word is also used in the languages of Sanskrit origin for a tortoise and garments to be worn while having a bath. The Rann is famous for its marshy salt flats which become snow white after the shallow water dries up each season before the monsoon rains. 

Kachchh District is surrounded by the Gulf of Kachchh and the Arabian Sea in south and west, while northern and eastern parts are surrounded by the Great and Small Rann (seasonal wetlands) of Kachchh. When there were not many dams built on its rivers, the Rann of Kachchh remained wetlands for a large part of the year. Even today, the region remains wet for a significant part of year.   

Ed Bing Lee, BURGER 2 (2006), 5x5x5”, waxed linen, linen, cotton floss, cotton. All photo credits in this story: Ken Yanoviak

When a Pittsburgh gallery representative asked Ed Bing Lee if he could create a teapot for an upcoming exhibition he thought, “of course, that’s child’s play.” Then his imagination went to work. “I like the idea of taking an art form that already exists and then reinterpreting it,” Lee says. “I knew I could do a regular teapot, but if you look at something and it leads you to something else, that’s what I like.” Leafing through reproductions of “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji,” by the Japanese printmaker Katsushika Hokusai, Lee found a favorite, “The Great Wave off Kanagawa,” created during the 1820s. Lee envisioned the great wave washing up over the top of the teapot and a fully-occupied fishing boat projecting underneath as the spout. Four and a half months and countless knots later, Lee completed the 8”x 8”x 8” teapot (see the video story, below).fine arts magazine

POPCORNY 1 (2007) 10x8x8”, synthetic ribbons, shoe lacing

Ed Bing Lee’s parents immigrated to San Francisco, where the artist was born, from Canton, China, at the beginning of the 1920s. In the fourth grade Lee had a teacher with a particular interest in art notice his drawing ability and she continued to encourage him to draw throughout his high school years. He won a scholarship to the Rudolph Schaeffer School of Design in San Francisco, and later received a bachelor’s degree from San Francisco State College, where one of his part-time jobs involved model-making. “I loved the idea of constructing stuff,” he says. Because he wanted to further his art studies and live in New York, Lee enrolled in Brooklyn College, receiving a master’s degree in painting and graphics. A classmate, who was a director of Boris Knoll fabrics, urged him to join their studio, which he did for several years. Later, he became head of the design department at Craftex Mills, near Philadelphia. His expertise in the textile market led to teaching posts at the University of the Arts and Moore College of Art, both in Philadelphia. And his teaching led to a class in off-loom techniques and to Lee’s discovery of knotting. “I thought of all the off-loom techniques, this was the most direct. It had the greatest freedom,” Lee says. “You can go two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or you can do both at the same time. And there’s no machinery.” That’s important. No machinery. Ed Bing Lee is strictly hands-on.

TEMOKU 2 (2010) 6x5x5”, paper ribbon, waxed linen

At the University of Pennsylvania, he studied art history, obtaining a second master’s degree, and he started using his favorite paintings to inspire his work. He thought how like pointillism his knots were and he began creating two-dimensional pieces that incorporated segments of George Seurat’s “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte”. But just reproducing parts of the painting would be boring. What would today’s picnickers take to the park? Fast food, of course. So Lee introduced images of sundaes, hamburgers, and Coca-Cola containers to his interpretations of Seurat’s work. In later two-dimensional pieces he chose Vermeer, Gauguin and others to inform his designs. Inevitably, he began experimenting with three-dimensional works. Visits to various natural history museums inspired a series on the earth crust, on minerals and rocks, and on exquisite orchids. Lee creates his pieces by axial weaving, by rotating them as he works. Using the double half-hitch knot, which he sometimes ties vertically, and other times horizontally, depending on the texture he wants to achieve, he works with DMC embroidery floss, Belgian linen and synthetic ribbons. His pieces seldom contain any form of support. For the most part, his work is hollow. The tension in the knots creates the shape. Viewers of his art frequently ask how many knots are in a piece. In the flat, two-dimensional works, it’s approximately five hundred per square inch. In the three-dimensional ones, well, you’ll just have to count them.

An admirer of two California artists, watercolorist Mark Adams, and Wayne Thiebaud, best known for his brightly-colored pies, cakes and other foodstuffs, their work inspired Lee to begin his “Delectables” series. He created assorted pies, ice cream cones, popcorn stuffed in a container covered in the American flag, a hot dog on a bun, and one of everybody’s favorites, a hamburger with all the fixin’s. Amazingly, the tomato on the hamburger was made by knotting single-ply embroidery thread. Lee likes to work with pieces in a series. “If you do only one piece, you have no idea of its possibilities,” he says. “I always find if a work doesn’t lead your mind to expand, you’re at a dead end. Each time I pick an idea and it doesn’t go far enough, I abandon it. I always want to work on something that will make me think, make me want to do the work, to find the solution. Challenge moves my work forward.”

BRAMBLE (2009) 4x5x5”, synthetic raffia

Challenge brought him to one of his most recent series which he named “Meditation on the Chawan.” Chawans are bowls, usually antique, used for mixing matcha, a powered green tea used in the Japanese tea ceremony. Lee chose the chawan because he wanted to train himself to think differently, to complete a structure that wasn’t totally enclosed, but still had body and volume. He moved from using waxed linen, which is very strong and structural, to ribbons, paper, even shoe laces. “Moving into ribbons, which have no body whatsoever, I wanted to still achieve volume just by the technique of knotting,” Lee says. “Just thinking about structure that way, with this floppy material, gave me the confidence that I can do certain things just by imagination and by thinking it through. And I sought to explore the concept of unity in variety. I wanted the series to be an open-ended adventure.” In 18 months, he completed 40 chawans (all approximately 4”x 4”x 4”), experimenting with different knotting techniques in addition to new materials.

Earthcrust Series: ATACAMA (2003), 3x4x1”, linen, cotton, waxed linen

He compares the experience to going back to school and says without it the cranes probably never would have materialized. Displayed in Lee’s studio is a fold-out greeting card depicting an elegant illustration of cranes. He always enjoyed looking at it, but only Ed Bing Lee would look at it and envision a teapot. But if you can turn “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” into a teapot, why not three cranes? And there’s the series thing. One teapot does not explore enough possibilities. The cranes teapot (12”x10”x10”) took Lee three and a half months to complete, and he has other ideas for teapots under development. In addition to his teapots, he wants to explore something different based on a favorite jungle scene by Henri Rousseau. “It’s always been one of my favorite paintings – charming, imaginative, a flight of fancy,” Lee says. “It’s a real challenge to my imagination.” He also wants to work on other designs that allow him to borrow the geometric, soaring arcs of Frank Stella’s work.

A recipient of numerous awards, including the 2007 Pew Fellowship in the Arts, awarded annually to 12 outstanding Philadelphia-area artists, Lee’s work is in numerous private collections, and regularly shown throughout the U.S. and at Philadelphia’s Snyderman-Works Gallery, where his art has been represented for over 30 years. At 77, Lee continues to create from fully-formed images in his mind. Often he will work on three or more pieces simultaneously, occasionally stopping to make sketches on scraps of paper or to record random thoughts in a notebook about a work as it progresses. His studio, high above the Philadelphia skyline, is lined with meticulously-organized threads, his collection of art books, and examples of work from throughout his career. Working at a small table, he does what he most values – challenge his imagination with endless exploration, one knot at a time.

By Kathleen McCann, Contributing Writer

Kathleen McCann writes about the visual arts from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Watch master, Ed Bing Lee working in his studio at:

Shilpa Chavan, Headgear, mixed media (2010)

Is art a part of life, or does it, in certain ways, stand apart from other forms of expression? Though sometimes challenging to categorize, broadly and philosophically- speaking, artistic expression deals with constantly evolving notions of aesthetics and rasa (taste), that is, varied ways of seeing and perceiving life and the surrounding world, but always with creativity as the central axis. More specifically, the distinction between art and craft, or between fine art and design/ fashion/applied art is equally disputed. All creative endeavors, in any form of visual art or the performing art or literature, epitomize a given time and space. Artists of all genres and designs- painters, sculptors, designers, illustrators, craftsmen, architects, fashion designers and new media practitioners, individuals or groups, in a juxtaposition of art and artifacts represent the vision, vitality and plurality of the cultural matrix in which they exist. Resulting from a cross fertilization of ideas and experiences, immersed in aesthetics as well as some form of functional value- may be just visual or sensual stimulation, each art form with its distinct characteristics, in whatever genre, color, style or media; involves cerebral and emotional inputs as well as skills, materials and a play of creative energies as a complete human activity.fine arts magazine  

The Indian Context  

Nayika Shringar: depicting one of nine moods or feelings, illustrating how fashion is integral to Indian artistic practice.

Intrinsically rooted in classical, tribal and folk forms that have traversed everything from the sacred to the profane, the decorative to the functional; Indian art in all its kaleidoscopic variety continues to engage life and society. Drawing on sound philosophical principals of Shilpasatras (the study of arts and crafts), expressed in both sacred and courtly terms, it has retained its aesthetic appeal while maintaining its functional role. Artists continue to perform important roles as communicators and harbingers of change, providing both guidance for those who pursue the arts purely for enjoyment, while also rendering works that illustrate popular ballads, epics and love stories and producing functional objects, including garments and other adornments. Arts add colour to Indian life, serve as a document of our history and enhance the cultural environment.  

Shringar (preparation for the day) to evoke one of the navrasa (nine juices with corresponding moods or feelings) is depicted with finesse in ornately-adorned sculptures and temple deities, or beautifully painted manuscripts and miniatures. They reinforce a tradition and illustrate how fashion has been integral to Indian artistic practice. Historical accounts and literary texts of the past describe in captivating detail the rustle of pure silks as the rich pass by. Renowned for their colors and patterns, Indian textiles, in fine muslin and handloom fabrics, received royal patronage, while also being accessible to commoners, who wear them in elegantly-folded, often unstitched, fashions such as saree for women and dhoti or pagri for men. Elaborately embroidered and embellished costumes, intricately designed jewelry and decorative patterns on hands, face and body, have been an integral part of Indian culture, cutting across all socio-economic strata, regardless of region, age, sex or community. Each distinctive style serves a specific occasion.  

Re-fashioning Art  

Menhdi: application of henna dye for weddings, festive occasions. Here depicting sexual positions from kamasutra

In this constantly-evolving world, nothing remains the same. India is not exempt and, given its prominent role in the global marketplace, its art and culture have also undergone an unprecedented transformation. The resulting free-flow of materials, styles and techniques has generated a refreshingly-hybrid style of art. Clearly impacted by all-pervasive Bollywood films, pop culture, kitsch and an explosion of material available through the Internet, Indian art in all its forms, from fine art to performance and installation art to design, fashion, architecture, photography, video and new media seem to have been refashioned as a new Avatar. Going well beyond decorative and spiritual themes, wider issues of human interest such as sexuality, feminist themes, regional identity, corruption, violence, world events, environment and human rights issues are being addressed and re-shaped in forms that can be either beautiful or beastly. In terms of scale and ambition too, Indian artists exude a new vigour and confidence. There is daring, depth and glamour in contemporary Indian art, offering provocation, reflection and pleasure. In an inclusive approach, the old and the new co-exist as canonical texts. Vastu shastras (architecture), Silpashastras (arts and crafts) and Kamasutra (art of sexual pleasure) are studied and practiced with as much fervor as ever, while innovation and experimentation, brought about by digital technology and new media, continue to open new doors for ancient practices.  

Alankar or embellishment for the self and one’s surroundings is a natural human desire. It is an essential element of visual language and an inseparable component of aesthetics. By analyzing costumes, decorative tradition, motifs and iconography used by a particular group at any given time, art historians can reconstruct a stylistic progression that traces the changes in a cultural milieu. Though often criticized merely for its glamour value, the evolution of fashion, in fact, is a creative endeavor akin to the study of fine art. Fashion artists work with colour, material, texture, form and design while painters, sculptors and other visual artists work with similar materials and concepts, often in an abstract realm. In a significant judgment, the Bombay High Court recently ruled that fashion designers are, in fact, artists. Fashion artists add beauty and visual appeal of garments, enhancing the utility, look and value of what they create–a decorative piece of clothing or a functional object. In turn, visual artists create to articulate their own and others’ dreams, fears, ideas and to catalogue events, with the similar result that our cultural environment is further enhanced. All artists take forward the age old concept of working together in groups and across disciplines, learning from each other in the process, as did the sthapatis or architects who excelled in building design, or the master artist who worked in karkhanas (studios/workshops) with the rangamez or colourist, calligrapher, framer and binder.  

Convergence  

Dileep Sharma, My Pavilion, fiberglass, steel (2010)

Both creative domains, though inextricably intertwined in their search for aesthetics and visual language, involve certain characteristics peculiar to each. While fashion artists appear to play vigorously with materials and premeditated design and for functionality as required by the rasik or market, artists seem to focus primarily on inner urges and spontaneity to reach the viewer or collector, often relegating the practicality of art to the background. Creativity and their ability to handle material and transform ideas into shapes, seem to be equally significant for artists and couturiers.  

A recent exhibition in Delhi provided a platform with space and scope for artists and designers to cross over the fence and converge experimenting and re-working their creativity with functionality as the goal. Each of the ten visual artists created a fashion garment or object of physical adornment, in addition to creating a work from within their own realm. The fashion artists play with unrestrained creativity making a two or three dimensional or virtual art work and designing a garment in their signature styles. In the process, both groups celebrate the exchange and cross-fertilization of ideas, experiences and practices, free from the pressure of commissions and the market, reliving their early, dreamy days of training and learning.  

Exhibitors include a mix—renowned artists and some younger and cutting-edge—but all straddling the genres to create paintings, photographs, sculptures, installations, videos and interactive art; fashion garments, functional objects and even food complete this inclusive, cohesive forum. This convergence of art and fashion makes a feast for the eyes, mind and body, challenging the intellect and charming with aesthetics.  

Dileep Sharma's woodblock designs printed on saree (detail)

Amid the ten visual artists in the exhibition is a large fiberglass brightly coloured sculpture of foot tapping legs of a young girl, My Pavilion, by Dileep Sharma. A symbol of modernity and pop culture, she is seductively poised as her mini-skirt flares in the air, bringing the exuberant pink of the inside out, showing off her yellow panty with precisely painted imagery in place, playing with its own shadow on the shiny plate below. A resident of Bollywood city, Sharma, known by his pseudonym, Kunwar ji, then returns to his roots in Rajasthan to work with craftsmen and get his intricate colourful imagery of provocatively playful female legs, in variable posturing, engraved in woodblocks for the hand block printing of his fashion art piece, the evergreen saree, in georgette.  

Baba Anand, Life Boxes (1 of 22), mixed media installation (2004)

In a similar pop and Bollywood streak appears the art of Baba Anand. Shuttling between the East and West, his artwork as an installation of 22 framed boxes that he has worked on since 2004, painted in a glossy laboratory-white. There is a clear imprint of his bohemian, open mindscape and his global exposure in the imagery and form of his work. The ‘Life Boxes’—painted mixed media imagery glued to the wood-threads, grub, wheels, money, luxury brands, advertisements, slogans, wax dolls, photos, etc.—create a collage illustrating the “culture of consumption and consumption of culture…” a clinical examination of westernized society, “an artistic anthropology of the habits of the Global Village at the dawn of the 21st Century”, to quote Jerome Neutre. This trained fashion designer, whose current practice engages fine art works in a kitsch- influenced, heavily embellished oeuvre, comes to the fore in his rock- star- gold jacket specially designed and created for the exhibition as his functional, wearable entry.  

Satish Gupta,Shwedagon, silk, pashmina, turquoise beads (fabric by India India), 2010

In contrast is Satish Gupta’s, ‘Shwe De Gong’ meditative creations in the Zen spirit, inspired by his recent visit to Myanmar. The icon featured in the painted canvas is also the central figure in his fabric creation for adorning the body. The shawl, in silk and wool fabric specially created by skilled crafters at ‘INDIA INDIA’, brings the artist’s vision to life in his maroon and black, handmade appliqué-worked piece with Buddha images superimposed, complimenting the painting. Together, the two follow the grid of the Cosmic Matrix series that has engaged and inspired the artist’s creative energies for years. As for the symbiotic relationship between art and fashion, the artist believes, “… creativity cannot be restricted to any one medium. What is expressed is of value through whichever medium the artist chooses for a particular work”.  

Seema Kohli (squatting on floor, middle) looking at embroiderer working on her design for ornate embroidered jacket

Engagement with iconography appears differently in artist Seema Kohli’s painting as a fine blend of myth and feminist energy with poetic elegance. Her densely painted canvas filled with nature, semi- anthropomorphic forms and a sensuous feminine figure prominently placed centrally, recreate mythology associated with the concept of procreation in ‘Hiranya garbha’ and the ‘Golden Womb’. To reflect on a woman’s search and urge for beauty, she presents a complete outfit in her fashion creation influenced by fashion designer Poonam Bajaj. A hand –embroidered, richly embellished jacket, digitally printed silk Lycra body suit, suede embroidered clutch bag coordinate to illustrate a feminist streak in her art.  

In a vastly different mode appear abstract renditions of Paris based artist Sujata Bajaj, whose work remains firmly rooted in the soil of her birth-land, but exudes a touch of the West—where she is based now—in its marked finesse. Her richly coloured canvas completely covered with evocative abstract impressionist markings of panchtatva—the five natural elements—accompanied by calligraphic, textual and textural interventions, looks bright and alive, drawing in the viewer. She complements it with a leather clutch by an Italian designer who has included a small canvas strip, hand painted by Sujata, on its cover. Easily carried and used, the handbag is an interesting companion to the painting on the wall.  

Sujata Bajaj stands beside a recent work (2007). From, The Hindu On-Line News

Manu Parekh known for his still life and Banaras series of paintings turns to Lord Ganesha for this exhibition. The painted canvas featuring that god in red yellow and green has orange and pink smeared all over his benevolent face, broad forehead, long winding laddoo holding trunk, pot belly and multiple hands. The bright eyed, generous God presents a picture perfect lovable image with an interesting touch of the artist’s unmistakable signature style. His rendition of the lord in a smaller work on cardboard is beautifully turned into a locket, given his experience as design consultant for the Weavers’ Service Center and then the Handicraft and Handloom Export Corporation of India. The locket strung together as a necklace makes a wearable piece possibly for special occasions, may be for invoking the Lord for good luck!  

Manu Parekh, hand-painted pendant (2010)

Landscape is at the centre of all that Paramjit Singh creates. His gentle exploration in subtle colours with laboriously textured thick brush work on canvas re-calls quiet pictures of silent valleys, flowing streams and water bodies, rising sun or moonlit nights, hills and mountain- scapes, walkways between towering trees, thick forests or streetscapes in autumn, covered with falling leaves. The artist’s painting for the exhibition explores a similar, other-worldly dreamscape, in a haven of its own, far beyond the chaotic urban world. Singh then selects a section of his painting, transposing it into digital imagery, printing it on fabric as a stole, usable by any individual with taste of any age and of either sex. The artist’s ability to work across media and domains is well-exemplified by both of his creations in the exhibition.  

Ravi Kumar Kashi specializes in making his own paper; working with various materials and genres, he has created a series of human torsos of cotton, jute and paper. A reflection of the times we live in, the visual culture of media re-presentations and hype are recurrently featured in his ‘non-linear’ artistic career that encompasses collage, moulded paper sculptures, assemblages, paintings, photography and new media work. The torso or armory of Doubting Thomas’is linked to his fashion art- wearable T shirts, aptly titled Inside Out. There is an uncanny resemblance between the two. The T shirts’ images of inner body parts painted in water-proof ink, and the torso, reveal how we hide by wearing clothes or otherwise covering up. Kashi’s work is also a comment on the human body’s fragility and the concept of regeneration.  

Paramjit Singh, abstract imagery digitally printed on a chiffon stole.

 As an artist, Yusuf Arakkal works across media and disciplines, appreciating the bond and interdependence between art and design: “We all know before fashion designing became specialized it was artists who created fashion and designed costumes. For example, Michelangelo had designed the beautiful out fits for the Swiss guards at Vatican that are still worn by them”.  

Ravi Kumar Kashi, Doubting Thomas, torso installation (2), paper pulp, mixed media (2008/9)

 Fashion artists and designers, just as many visual artists, work to bring high aesthetics to their creations. Yusuf has painted two canvases with familiar wearable garments: a jacket and trousers. The red hanger and line running through each canvas lend an animating, painterly touch to both images. A light blue shirt in soft denim, paired with a piece from his Child series of paintings, creates a wearable fashion garment with unisex appeal.  

The role that models play in giving the designed fashion wear its full glory is often limited to their appearance in ramp walks and glossy magazines or the advertising world. Young Viveek Sharma features a European model that he met during a recent residency in Germany in his oil on canvas on display in the show. He then cooks a meal and prepares the table showing the model waiting at the window and titling the whole installation ‘Who is coming for dinner tonight?’ This in-your-face interactive art work brings the fashion design and art domains together via a performative mode, a telling comment on the uncertainty in a model’s life. It also reflects the frailty of human relationships in contemporary society. Sharma adds another dimension to his work given, that the Zanana Table Chair, part of the installation, was created by designer duo, Sahil and Sarthak, who used local material and ethnic wear for this ultra-modern luxury furniture.  

Yusuf Arakkal, Generation Gap,o/c (2001)

Rajesh Pratap Singh, Meditating Man, scissors, 48"x48"x13".

 The ten fashion artists likewise play with their creative energies to embody art, beside design and fashion, within its folds. While Ritu Kumar chooses to create a painting in mixed media to feature her love of the fabric and colours, along with an elaborately textured ornate costume, JJ Valaya finds recourse in photography to document his long time association with that form, in addition to his signature fashion creation. In a mix of everyday materials and street culture, Manish Arora, inspired by Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, creates his own flamboyant, contemporary design; while his name-sake from Mumbai, Manish Malhotra, known for his designs for many of the Bollywood film stars, also showcases a couple of his ornate creations. Gaurav Gupta juxtaposes his garment with an installation to explore “the blurred line between the accepted norm of functional and non functional”. Himanshu Dogra and Play Clan give us “an experiential walkthrough showing different processes and development of an art work from concept to print….as a garment, a painting or a utility item….” Malini Ramani’s garment and installation with video, flesh out the ambience that connects the two within their context. Rajesh Pratap Singh’s sculpture of a meditating man made out of scissors, and his men’s wear suit worn by one of his associates, both illustrate his love for simplicity with substance. Shilpa Chavan, or Little Shilpa, as she is more popularly known, styles a hat and an installation made with humble materials found in a local street market, transforming it into a spectacular sculpture with a feminist thrust (see opening image). In his fashion designs, Varun Sardana uses masks theatrically, turning fashion into a performance: “…the theatre of fashion….a play between wearable garments and their heightened presentation”.  

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Viveek Sharma, KALIYUG, o/c (2009). Fabiant Claude Walter Gallery, Zurich

 This versatile collection features many new art works across the genres, all aesthetically endowed and technically virtuous. They respond to the concept behind the exhibition, with a fresh outlook, as fashion creations and fine art works coalesce in a free exchange of creative energies. Both domains, influencing each other in frequently varying proportions, now inhabit today’s art galleries and museum spaces. Historically too, both forms have remained current with society, part and parcel of its time. Original patterns, whether painted on canvas or drawn on paper, may be equally creative. Artists patronize fashion designers, as fashion designers have traditionally collected art, as was the case with French couturier Paul Poiret, who collected works by Picasso, Matisse, Dufy and Rouault, among others. Artists likewise design costumes and sets for theater, as did Neelima Sheikh for one of Anuradha Kapoor’s stage productions. MF Husain and Laxma Goud have both designed clothes, and artist Sanjay Bhattacharya began his career as a designer, and Shuvaprasanna, as an illustrator. Creative influence has flowed both ways as fashion imitates art, and art imitates life.  

And life continues to be impacted by both!  

By Sushma Bahl, Contributing Writer  

This article is an edited version of the curatorial essay that was featured in the catalogue for ‘Convergence: Art & Fashion’ exhibition, presented by Art Positive in Delhi in Nov-Dec 2010)

Landscape, HUANG Gong Wang (1269-1354 C.E)

Ancient pictographs depict China as the Land of the Middle Kingdom, suspended half way between heaven and earth and blessed by splendid isolation from the rest of the world. In this century, this sprawling nation of 1.3 billion sits squarely in the real world, striving to find a place and a voice in a vast and rapidly-expanding global economic marketplace. In spite of its transition to new-found prosperity, China remains a country of stark contrasts. The language of wealth, materialism and a new-found lifestyle for a privileged few co-exists with the poverty and illiteracy of a far-flung and uninformed rural populous, divided, as it were, by language and centuries of isolation and ethnic conflict.

The hide-bound and myopic patriarchal leadership of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) regularly co-mingles with the rapidly-emerging intellectual and business communities of the urban centers of financial power and influence; each continues to view the other warily and with mutual distrust. Both factions of the political/social divide, however, reap the enhanced financial and political benefits that free trade policies offer. Additionally, more open access to unfiltered news, spawned by the technology of the Information Age, lurks in the background as an omnipresent threat to the reins of control customarily applied to the general population. In spite of this uneasy shift to social transparency for the power-elite, China continues to transition from economic oblivion; emerging as a major sphere-of-influence on the international playing field, far exceeding anything they could have envisioned for themselves—this once-remotest of lands– given a national legacy veiled in mystery, spaning five millennia.

Pop Recruiting poster by WANG Guangyi, 2002; one of the 4 Kings

China’s long history places a premium on tradition and old-world values. These principles of personal anonymity, isolationism and secrecy, loyalty to political dogma, ancestral worship and strong family values have served as both a mainstay and a barrier to progress over the years. Twentieth century politics in China has been dominated by leaders, like Mao Zedong, who have been able to effectively capitalize on these cultural norms: to control agricultural production, promote political loyalty and limit free-thinking. The decade-long Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) proved deadly for those who embraced remnants of the feudal past or proclaimed any modicum of liberal, artistic, religious or intellectual thought that did not tow the party line.

Factory workers in one of thousands of factories springing up in the Chinese countryside

Following Mao’s death in 1976, there was a period of social and industrial experimentation under the direction of Deng Xiaoping, as he attempted to strengthen China’s standing in the world as an economic power. By the 1980s, China had earned “most favored nation” status with the U.S. and, with that, information, outside investment, retail brands and all forms of pop culture began to pour into the country. The establishment of Special Economic Zones in larger coastal cities, such as Hong Kong and Shanghai introduced the Chinese to Western economic opportunities and to the development of a new concept—an emerging middle class created by successful business ventures. With the government’s response to the student protests in Tiananmen Square in 1992, much of the creative energy within the artistic community went underground. What followed was a decade of government-sponsored crackdowns and a return to old-school, “Great Wall” isolationism. This only appeared to end during the period leading up to the arrival of the Summer Olympics in Bejjing in 2008 and the emergence of China’s new face as a manufacturer and exporter of goods in the global marketplace in the early years of this new century. The West, and particularly the United States, eagerly sought out the limitless supply of cheap labor and production capacity that China now offered; as the recipients of this largess withing the PRC quickly moved to embrace the once-forbidden capitalistic market model.

WANG Guangyi Untitled, 1986

So, what accounts for the rapid emergence of a new generation of artists, living and working in a country that, for all intents and purposes, has a reputation for not supporting or even welcoming creative or independent expression? Furthermore: if contemporary Chinese art is being so fiercely sought after in today’s market, how is it that this market trend arrived so abruptly and without the usual early warning signs that accompany any significant sea-change in the insular and self-informed world of fine art?

For the answers to those complex questions, I went to Lillian and Jeff Lum, owners of the Greenwich, Connecticut-based, Art Touch Collection. There, I learned that contemporary Chinese art is as varied as its Western counterpart and, like that more familiar model, has its highly-visible personalities, auction house favorites and celebrities. But also, like the Euro/American scene, there are many Chinese, Taiwanese and other Asian artists who are laboring quietly in the vineyards, producing credible and beautiful work.

LIU Wei, Landscape,1998

Lillian explains that, “It is remarkable that a body of such experimental work can be turned out by a group of artists whose formal training has such traditional roots. The art academies and universities continue to teach traditional Chinese methods, including brush painting, calligraphy and print making. These methods were, by their nature, expressionless, uniform in their composition and guided by strict rules. The political climate in the late 70s was just open enough, however, to allow a handful of young post-Mao artists to experiment with techniques and themes that were informed by Western ideas at the time. Thematically, they remained fundamentally Chinese, but the work began to challenge old ideas of authority, identity and tradition.”

“Historically, Chinese artists produced work and gave it away to friends, family and members of the royal order,” Lillian says, “but in the modern world, with increased attention for ‘things Chinese’, these artists found a modestly enthusiastic market for what they were producing.” A number of shows were planned and mounted in the 80s, but most were shut down by the State after just a few days or weeks. The events of Tiananmen Square in 1992 brought the public display of experimental art to an abrupt end. But colonies of artists continued the debate and produced work that found a modest and cautious audience in the country, itself.

FENG Zhengjie, Chinese Portrait #28, 2004

It was the Shanghai Biennale in 2000 that once again opened the doors to the world for the experimental art community in China. Following that event, and fueled by a robust global economy and China’s prominent role in that resurgence, contemporary Chinese artists were increasingly legitimized through international shows, major auction house activity and collector interest.

XU Bing, Book from the Sky, 1987-91

“The difficulty comes in how to benchmark this work,” explains Lum. “With such a rapid expansion in interest and perceived value for the work of these artists, it is hard to know if it will be sustainable. The model for sale of art in China, itself, relies little on standard outlets such as galleries and dealers, except in the largest cities. In too many cases it is possible to buy art directly from the artist—leaving little or no ongoing track record of consistent valuation. Also, the Chinese auction houses are not carefully controlled, so sale prices can be artificially manipulated by private arrangements between the artist and the house, or by outside buyers who ultimately represent the interests of the artist,”

“A steep ramp-up in pricing probably means that the artist is not ‘bankable’ in the long run. That is why it is important to collect Chinese artists with an eye toward established market presence in the West, consistent output over time and quality,” says Lum. “The market has its favorites and there is a group called, The Four Kings, consisting of ZHANG Xiaogang, YNE Minjun, CAI Guo-Qiang and WANG Guangyi. They will continue to command high prices in Western galleries and auctions, at least for a while. Beyond that, there are many Chinese artists turning out meaningful work that is worth owning.”

But, in the long run, important segments of a rapidly-growing Chinese artistic community are exhibiting the willingness and ability to bring a carefully-considered body of work to the marketplace and have it stand on its own against the best that Western markets have to offer. In recent comments at Columbia University, by world-renowned artist Xu Bing, he stated that innovation stands on equal footing with tradition in Chinese artistry. “Like the mythical Phoenix of legend, China and Chinese art will rise from the ashes of our recent past and take its place in Western consciousness,” he declared with a broad smile.

by Richard Friswell, Editor-in-Chief

To see more contemporary Chinese and Japanese art, go to: www.arttouchcollection.com

With the explosion of the green movement affecting everything from automobiles to furniture, rug importers and manufacturers are taking a fresh look at their production methods only to discover that their industry has essentially been green all along. Others are developing ways to enhance the green credentials of their handmade rugs in terms of dyeing, washing, and recycling the waste generated during the production process. While significant strides have been made by the machine-made carpet industry towards making it more eco-friendly, carpeting is still mainly produced from non-renewable petroleum products which ultimately account for up to an estimated 5 billion tons of discarded product—up to 1% of U.S. landfills—most of which is non-biodegradable.

The Verde Collection, Design, Ve-06 OAT. Courtesy of Momeni, Inc.

While nylon can be recycled, the availability of such facilities is still limited. [2]Moreover, from a health standpoint, carpeting would appear to incur a greater incidence of ‘outgassing’ due to their higher chemical components and irritants namely dust and molds. Most offensive from the green standpoint are carpeting’s chemical treatments and synthetic backing. As for handtufted products, they are dismissed by most industry experts from being green despite their wool content because of their latex backing.    

Vegetable-dyeing Tibetan wool in Nepal. Courtesy of Tamarian Carpets.

In contrast, states Reza Momeni of Momeni, Inc, Carlstadt, NJ: “Oriental and handmade decorative rugs are the greenest products ever made.” As remarks Teddy Sumner of Michaelian & Kolhberg, Summit,NJ, the handmades are generally produced with wool, a renewable fiber, and free from adhesives and petroleum- based products, the latter of which is “the biggest issue in 2008.”

Going back to the basics of handmade rugs, antiques are the most ecological of floor coverings, according to David Basalely of Eliko Oriental Rugs, New York, NY. Indeed, he comments: “They have an almost infinite lifespan as they are used until they’re worn out and still have some life to them…Antique rugs are as green as a handmade product can possibly be.” Their “greenness” is attributed to their being manufactured with ecologically sustainable components, primarily cotton and wool, natural dyes, and with minimal, if any, machinery involved. When questioned about the “greenness” of chemical dyes, including aniline, in antique pieces, Mr. Basalely comments that when used, they were generally applied sparingly particularly when compared to machine-made carpeting and fabrics.

Trimming a finished rug in Nepal. Courtesy of Tamarian Carpets.

Dyed wool drying in eastern Turkey. Courtesy of Woven Legends, Inc.

In addition, antique rugs can literally be recycled as Mr. Basalely observed: “Not only are you reusing the rugs but giving them new life.” Case in point: Eliko has developed a line of Turkish natural wool and hemp flatweaves, produced from recycled raw materials from 60- to 80-year-old grain bags. When assessing antique rugs, tribal pieces are generally the purest, he reports. The pioneers of the vegetable-dyed rug renaissance that began in 1980 with the DOBAG experiment in Turkey under the auspices of chemist Dr. Harald Böhmer are at the forefront of the greenrug movement although not by design. George Jevremovic of Woven Legends, Philadelphia, PA, was one such pioneer who started his vegetable-dyed production in western Turkey in 1982 and moved to eastern Turkey in 1985 where he employed thousands including spinners, dyers, and weavers.

A Folklife carpet woven with handcarded, handspun vegetable-dyed wool in eastern Turkey. Courtesy of Woven Legends, Inc.

In an effort to reverse the commercialization of the production process and recreate the esthetics of antiques, Woven Legends began using hand- or machine-carded handspun wool from eastern Turkey that is hand colored with natural dyes such as indigo, safflower root, and cochineal. “When we started doing these rugs, I was thinking more ‘art’ as opposed to ‘green,’” he comments. According to Mr. Jevremovic, the creation of a green rug depends on respecting the core principles of organic rug making namely handspun wool and natural dyes. However, when a specific look is desired, purism can only go so far. For instance, the wash can range from a neutral soap and water solution to a chlorine- based bleach. “Bleach in itself is not a bad thing,” he adds. “It’s a cleansing agent.

With the renaissance of handmade rug production of the 1980s in India, Pakistan, China, Armenia, Egypt, and Romania, the “greening” of rugs took place long before it was trendy. Indeed, art and green go hand in hand. Comments Mr. Sumner on Michaelian & Kohlberg’s introduction of vegetabledyed rugs from India in 1990: “When I revived natural dyes, I was primarily intent on using dyes native to India and on creating a complexity of color with abrash while paying homage to tradition.” The fact that these rugs happened to be thereby green is an “ancillary” advantage. Today, however, importers are much moreaware of the potential environmental impact of rug making processes. Steve Cibor of Tamarian Carpets, Baltimore, MD, is among those taking steps to production more environmentally friendly in Nepal. For instance, when washing rugs, the discarded water is collected and shipped in trucks and later reused by cement companies for mixing cement for buildings.

Among other interesting recent green initiatives is that of Megerian Brothers Oriental Rugs, Inc., New York, NY, in Armenia where the ecological aspects of production are taken into consideration not only with respect to the rugs themselves but also with the weavers who make them. All components of the rug-making process are local from the natural dyes extracted from roots, flowers, and plants (e.g., pomegranate for the tobacco hue and walnut skin for yellow and brown) to the extra virgin wool free from exposure to toxic materials. Equally important, according to John Megerian, the air at the weaving facilities “is always purified and harsh chemicals and solvents are never used.” Employees are offered milk and yogurt at the end of the day to purify their digestive system of any dust. Meanwhile, new at Michaelian & Kohlberg’s facility in China are adjoining fields whose plants generate all the dyes for their Hamadan Collection.

Weaving a rug in Armenia. Courtesy of Megerian Brothers Oriental Rugs, Inc., New York, NY.

Washing a rug in Nepal. Courtesy of Tamarian Carpets

Moreover, in the countries of origin themselves, attitudes are gradually becoming more vigilant about the proper handling of by-products of dye residue to prevent their filtering into the ground. Experts report that even China, notorious for its environmental record, legislation regarding dyeing facilities is becoming more stringent with respect to the use of non-toxic elements and recycling. Experts also comment that the developing countries’ infrastructure, while improving, still needs more work. “It would help if the producing countries took some initiative,” notes Mr. Jevremovic. There is some controversy regarding the “greenness” of the more widely used chrome dyes. From a strictly purist standpoint, the most organic rugs are of undyed natural fibers, such as wool, nettle, and hemp. “However,” remarks Mr. Cibor, “these rugs are popular because of their look rather than their greenness.” While natural dyes are held in the highest esteem, the imperatives of continuity often dictate that they be combined with chrome dyes or that they be made of chrome only. Tamarian’s manufacturers in Nepal have recently converted to Swiss-made metalfree chrome dyes (Clairnet) which do not “out gas” as one walks over the rugs. “Regular chrome dyes have metal substance,” notes Mr. Cibor. “They are not bad but not great.”

Meanwhile, comments Mr. Momeni who has recently launched the handknotted 100% natural- dyed hemp Verde Collection from the “Naturally…Momeni” group of products: “Chrome dyes have been used for generations without any negative health impact. I think the big advantage of their being present in hand-knotted versus in machinemade rugs is that hand-knotted rugs are washed and sundried thereby limiting any negative chemical impact.” Adds another industry observer: “Having chrome dyes doesn’t make them not green.” Still, continues Mr. Cibor: “Research needs to be done on these to evaluate them more precisely.”

An antique Ferreghan Sarouk handknotted with natural dyes, 4.3×6.5 c. 1900. Courtesy of Eliko Oriental Rugs, Inc.

How aware is the end-buyer of the “greenness” of rugs? Members of the interior design industry – the prime ‘movers and shakers’ of retail sales and increasingly involved in the green building and design movement—see untapped opportunities in the oriental rug industry. “The handmade rug industry could be doing more to educate the public on how rugs are being manufactured,” states interior designer Annette Stelmack of Stelmack & Associates III, Denver, CO, and co-author of Residential Sustainable Interiors. Echoes Judy Swann of Green Interior Consultants, Westport, CT, an ASID interior designer who consults with the design trade on implementing green design: “It is atypical for designers to realize that handwoven rugs are green. This message has not yet reached the public.”

An example of Eliko’s all-natural wool and hemp kilimcollection handwoven in Turkey with recycled materials from 60- to80-year-old grain bags. Courtesy of Eliko Oriental Rugs, Inc.

Yet, despite her green background, this former Marketing/Business Development Manager at DuPont who was key in developing the company’s textile division’s recycling program in the 1990s, admits that esthetic considerations pre-empt green concerns, i.e., she might opt for a machinemade over a handmade product if esthetically it better suited the project. Like most members of the design trade, she is not yet fully aware of the “greener” attributes of handmade products; clearly, there is a need for the industry to better communicate the green advantages of handmade rugs. Adds Michael Mandapati of Warp & Weft, New York, NY, which primarily services the design community: “If clients don’t like a rug esthetically, they won’t buy it whether it’s deemed green or not.” Still, Ms. Stelmack comments that clients would veer toward green rugs adding: “The education level of designers on the green value of handmade rugs will evolve. However, it is really up to the manufacturers to educate them.”

by Alix Perrachon, Contributing Editor

Recommended reading: Foster, Kari, Stelmack, Annette, and Hindman, Debbie. Sustainable Residential Interiors. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2007.  They note that Oriental and decorative rugs are unparalleled in their ‘green’ properties, when compared to their machinemade counterparts. Indeed, there is “a wider selection of styles and fibers to choose from that fit eco-friendly specifications in area rugs than with wall-to-wall carpet,”

1.Kari, Foster Stelmack, Annette and Hindman, Debbie, Sustainable Residential Interiors (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.), p. 369.

2.Ibid, p. 223. Reprinted from the Fall 2008 of AREA Magazine courtesy of the Oriental Rug Importers Association, Inc.”

This extraordinary early Tang Dynasty (618-907 c.e.) camel and rider (20” tall x 14” wide) is representative of a golden period in Chinese cultural history. After hundreds of years of regional conflict and division, central China was unified under as series of powerful emperors and entered a long period of peace and creativity. Stimulated by contact with India and the Middle East, the arts flourished. Buddhism, originating in India, found its way to China in the time of Confucius and this introspective faith was soon adopted by the royal family to become a permanent part of Chinese culture. Not only painting, but music, opera and poetry also became popularized.

Another piece from the Mandarin Collection features an animated horse's head, a collectable feature

Much of the figurative clay and polychrome figures from this and the earlier Han Dynastry (206 b.c.e.-220 c.e.) were tomb figures, interred with the wealthy to accompany them in the afterlife. Currently very sought-after, these expressive and skillfully crafted figures tell a story of life little-changed over the centuries.

Technically, the structure and design of this camel and rider represent an innovation in the shaping and firing of the clay for that time. Since the long legs of the animal could not be rendered in wet clay without some structural reinforcement for the weight of the body of the animal and figure, internal cast iron supports were used for the extremities. These struts were first coated in wax before being surrounded by clay. In the firing, the melting wax would escape thought a tiny hole in the foot leaving a small space behind. This technique prevented the expanding metal from cracking the clay as the figure baked in the kiln. A delicate, gravity-defying figure was the result.

This rare and expressive sculpture is available through The Mandarin Collection in Westport, CT. It has been authenticated using Oxford University’s carbon dating system. Price: $66,000. Contact C.C. Wong at 203.454.4030 for more information.

Read more about China’s Tang Dynasty at: http://www.bambooweb.com/articles/T/a/Tang_Dynasty_art.html