P A R T 1
of 2 Parts
Having spent four and a half decades as a gallery owner, I have had the privilege to work with thousands of clients and have found that the characteristics and habits of the modern collector are less readily defined.
Singular, exceedingly finely detailed Persian Tehran Vase
Rug
4’ 8” x 6’ 8", circa 1875, Connoisseur-Caliber, SEE
HERE.
"... each acquisition is an elusive, exclusive artifact discovered within the depths of a dwindling whole."
Over the years I have been given a front-row seat from which to witness what quickens the pulse and piques the attention of many impassioned collectors. I find that the common threads in collecting strategies can be broken into three categories that I call the Aesthete, the Connoisseur and the Pure Collector.
Whether the collection is stamps or Pre-Columbian Art, American Impressionist paintings or sports memorabilia, items appropriate to one’s preferred genre were often created within a clearly defined place and period, and are in limited supply. The driving knowledge fueling the passions of all three types of collectors is that each acquisition is an elusive, exclusive artifact discovered within the depths of a larger, dwindling whole.
The Aesthete
Having a place to put an objet d’art is vital to the Aesthete, who can be incredibly creative in finding display areas. I have been in homes with Oceanic art displayed on shelves in the guest bathroom, early Chinese porcelain in elaborate cases in a rear corridor leading to the laundry room, and high-collectible antique rugs draped over banisters or furniture, or under glass on a dining table. Recently, when meeting a client in her home, I remarked on how lovely I found her environment to be. She replied matter-of-factly, “It is important for me to be able to look in every corner of my home and see beauty.”
The Connoisseur
The Connoisseur’s desire is to collect the most covetable offerings of a given genre,but to create an interior design that will accommodate the widest possible selection of art objects. Overlapping with the Aesthete, they assemble memorable homes surrounded by their art forms of choice, but display the art front and center, rather than as an element in the environment. Their approach is more curated. They enjoy revisiting not just the beauty of each piece, but their studied recognition of its importance.
Another attribute of the Connoisseur is that they are comfortable with having part of their collection in storage and take great delight in changing out pieces. The connoisseur of antique rugs often has dedicated storage chests and closets, and even entire rug cellars from which to exchange with pieces currently on display. As one of my clients explained, “Seeing a piece that was in storage for a year is a fascinating process. I see that my relationship to that rug actually grew during the time it was put away.”
