Thoughts on Collecting

Last week someone asked me how do I go about selecting / rejecting pieces.

I thought and answered but this is not an easy question and the thinking continues…

Instead of putting it down in one long essay, this blog offers the luxury of typing out one thought at a time. So here is one. More might follow.

“When I acquired pieces in Lhasa, the signs of ‘life’ imbued into such cultural objects was one of the most important factors that decided what I selected and what I rejected. There were many pristine pieces that I rejected and there were many prettier pieces that I was not attracted to. To me, the pieces with signs of usage had the most beauty because they had clearly and very visibly been intertwined into the lives of the people. After all, through such acquisitions, I am fulfilling my longing to live their life that seems so interesting vicariously – by capturing the only transferable assets of their lives – these material fragments that survived beyond those times. If I could visit all those lives at will – then perhaps I would  have no need for collecting antiques”

‘Signs of life’ was probably an important criterion that influenced my selection, ceteris paribus,  as I looked through dozens of authentic pieces in Lhasa in 2007.

jm

jan 2016