Why Is This Necklace Worth $602,000?
February 19, 2014
Are you signing or stamping your work?
Are you keeping Inventory Records for your work?
Do you own work by your friends or colleagues?
Is an auction of your work in your future?
As artists and makers it is important to understand that the value of our work can extend far beyond quality, materials, or tour de force craftsmanship. The identity of the maker can be of significant importance along with clear history or provenance.
Collectors want to know that the work is genuine, not a fake or a copy. This is where you records and documentation are proof.
This Calder necklace was owned by Finnish designers and architects Aino and Alvar Aalto as a reflection of their friendship and close working relationship.
This stamped Calder necklace with provenance (a great story) sold at auction for $602,000. Read this article from Christie’s has a phenomenal example.
Can these factors work for your work?
This is why the SNAG Professional Development Seminar will be addressing these issues in “Collections, Collectors, and You.”
Listen to this Metalsmith Bench Talk interview for insight about maker's mark, and collecting with Harriete Estel Berman and Betty Talbott.
This interview will be offering unique insight into guild "grassroots" collections from Betty Talbott, the Director of the Ohio Craft Museum and Artistic Director of the Ohio Designer Craftsmen. Don't miss this special program.
AND while I am addressing this topic, the identity of the maker may be important on a personal level as well. Stamping your work with your maker’s mark, may be important to your children, grandchildren and future generations.