http://newelsantiqueblog.com Newel's view of the decorative and fine arts world Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:30:13 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The “go-go” years of the antiques trade in the 1980s relished the economy’s inflationary bias. The effect on prices for these objects was devastating, in a good way. Prices, like homes values prior to the present “Great Recession” had no where to go but up, up, up. ... http://newelsantiqueblog.com/?p=123 Sometime you have to look at the gift horse and wonder why and where did you come from? For the art and antiques trade, the recently passed American financial reform legislation has many intriguing possibilities. By creating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the legislation would allow this government ... http://newelsantiqueblog.com/?p=121 The (hot) summer of 2010 is upon us in New York City, but telling the temperature in the art and antiques business is a bit more problematic. After the universal effects of “The Great Recession”, are things improving, getting worse, or still evolving from its traumatic consequences? Change in ... http://newelsantiqueblog.com/?p=120 It seems that the art world has experienced a roller coaster period of demand and price fluctuation. Some areas seem to be recovering quite nicely, as Picasso and Giacometti works can attest too. With the decorative arts, the rebound can be characterized as not happening. Demand is ... http://newelsantiqueblog.com/?p=119 My faith in the legal process may yet be tested. My son, a law student, sent me an article in the New York State Bar Association’s Entertainment, Art, and Sports Journal-Spring 2010 edition titled: The House Always Wins: A Call to Reform Art Auction House Regulations. It was submitted ... http://newelsantiqueblog.com/?p=118 I have always tried to slice and dice a piece of furniture or decorative arts by associating a style and sub-style with the item. I find it’s a way to understand where the design was coming from and what influences made it adaptable. Chinese Chippendale seems as incongruous ... http://newelsantiqueblog.com/?p=117 I have always been a strong advocate of disclosed prices in the art and antiques industry. The fear of disclosing an asking price is nothing less than a secret reserve price. It creates a setting for being deceived and manipulated before you even make an inquiry about the ... http://newelsantiqueblog.com/?p=116 While I absolutely love macro-economic theory, I deal in a micro-economic business. The decorative arts industry has only recently, with the effects of the recent “Great Recession”, experienced a significant financial shock from this general economic condition. Perhaps the Great Depression is the only measure of a true ... http://newelsantiqueblog.com/?p=115 Presently before the NYS Senate is a bill, passed by the Assembly that is attempting to define how public auctions should operate. This law needs clearer and more direct disclosure of the potentially deceptive and collusive actions presently allowed. Codified with this bill, the new rules will avail auctioneers ... http://newelsantiqueblog.com/?p=114 As bad as antiques dealers have fallen, so has the entire auction part of the trade. As I looked over at my group of upcoming Sotheby’s and Christie’s decorative arts sales catalogues, I had to pause at the thin volume and quality of inventory coming onto the market. ... http://newelsantiqueblog.com/?p=113