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      Fig. 16 Five deeply carved short swords (tantō) ivory, depicting battling samurai, creatures, flowers, birds, and crests. Photo courtesy Flying Cranes Antiques.

      Pricing Antiques

      In the stock market, every stock has a daily quote: you know a particular share's price and dividend as it is a uniform piece of paper meaning ownership in a future stream of earnings. Antiques are not like that. There is no market price. Each differs and the only dividend is pleasure. For example, you see an attractive Imari bowl, made about 1870 in Arita, Kyūshū, which costs ¥50,000. You wonder if it is worth that. Your reaction shows how the market works. The dealer's price may be higher than yesterday because you are wearing expensive clothes, or lower because she needs cash for a new purchase. The price may be negotiable or fixed. You may decide it is not worth haggling and give up. Or you may want to think about it. Encouraged by the praise lavished on it by a companion shopper, but feeling guilty about spending $400, you give an ultimatum: ¥45,000 is the maximum you will pay. If the dealer agrees, the two of you have decided the price. She was willing to sell and you were willing to buy at that price.

      If you show the same bowl to an expert, he or she may say it is worth twice that or half. If this makes you happy or mad, it does not change the facts. The dealer was willing to sell and you were willing to buy at that level, so that was the price. It is important to realize that prices are formed in the eye of the beholders. They are not sacred scripture. The dealer may have lost money or gained, you may have spent too much money to survive the weekend, but seeing that bowl in that setting at that time and in that mood, you bought it at that price- the only valid definition of its worth. It is entirely possible that it would fetch half or twice that price somewhere else, but that is irrelevant. You decided it together.

      There is no Dow-Jones index to which you can refer to price a set of five Kutani plates or a wooden hibachi. You can construct an index only for identical things. Each ordinary share of GE is as valuable as the others, so a stock quote is valid. It reflects the price that buyers and sellers think reasonable today, given the information available. The condition and painting of the Kutani dishes mentioned here varies; if sold separately, they would have a different value. The Japanese are used to "sets" of five, so if there were fewer, the value of each added together would be much less than for a full set. If they came in a valid period box, the price might double, especially if the date and maker were written on the box. Similarly, each hibachi varies in size and wood, or at least has different grain. One may have dark burns in the wood but a lovely patina, while another is in excellent condition but rather bland. The buyer and seller must weigh up these factors and decide a suitable price.

      Buyer's Checklist

      There is no manual (unlike for secondhand cars, stamps, or baseball cards) that can really give you a reference price (though Miller's Price Guide does try). The seller has seen many similar hibachi and remembers roughly what they sold for at auction and in stores. Based on that, the surroundings and season, as well as his desire for profit or the need to sell quickly, he will quote a price. If he admires it, the onlooker will start going through a mental checklist:

       Is it as beautiful as I should like?

       Will the dealer mend that crack, clean the copper, and order glass for the top?

       Can I afford it?

       What would my husband/wife/family say?

       Where could I put it?

       Do I need it?

       How would it look in the house back home?

       Would I!we always appreciate this souvenir from Japan?

       Is it fun to look at, talk about, and use?

       Will it survive the air-conditioning back home?

      If the answer is "yes" or positive often enough, then the potential customer will also wonder about the dealer. If I discover something terrible, does he seem trustworthy enough to get the problem fixed? How do I know that the price is not too steep?

      The answers depend on knowing other people to ask and your assessment of the dealer's location and trustworthiness. If you are with other collectors, you can find out on the spot if the price is about right and a look round should tell you if his shop will be here a long time. If it is in a temple/shrine market, he may not be there again next month. If it is on a downtown street, he will be.

      The next step is to discuss the price. Some dealers keep to fixed prices. Some will drop a little if you express interest, particularly at fairs or shrine sales. A third group will offer a sky-high price and then generously offer to reduce it enormously.

      Collectors, too, come in different stripes. Those buying top quality pieces are often sure of their judgment and will accept a reasonable price, thinking of the next time too. If they drive a hard bargain this time, the dealer will not bother to look for that special piece. Others, the majority, are small-scale hagglers and feel better if the dealer takes off a bit. After all, they are not buying necessities. The third group is the most feared. They haggle ferociously for hours, as if in a souk. This approach may work, as the dealer finally only wants to get rid of the pesky customer and have a little peace, but it never works a second time. The dealer sees him coming and suddenly the price doubles before it is announced.

      Price Trends

      Antiques made with quality materials and artistry generally appreciate with time. But this does not mean that you should buy them for investment, without knowledge. There are too many uncertainties. When you spend a few thousand dollars, it is comforting to know that you could resell the item for a similar sum. It was fairly common to assume this was possible in the age of inflation from the 1940s through the 1980s. Indeed, many dealers gave a guarantee that they would buy back an item after a year or two for the purchase price, minus a commission. In Japan, this era ended with the vertiginous ascent of the yen and the fall of the dollar and pound.

      In general, young people in Japan feel scant affinity for the old things they see in their grandparents' houses. They are seen as outdated and linked with prewar Japan. The young are unlikely to go crazy over Japanese antiques (anything else is possible, if remotely exotic or cute). At a pinch, they may buy a few usable dishes or other tableware, if in a group. Middle-aged and over collectors are quite common and are less prone to fads. They tend to like the staples of antique shops in Japan: quality porcelain, lacquer, smaller baskets, little pieces of furniture, tea bowls, and other tea-related paraphernalia like caddies.

      Occasionally, fashions overtake the antique world. A women's magazine article praising porcelain plates and bowls with taka karakusa or octopus arabesque designs (as occurred a few years ago) may push a panic button among financiers, brothel keepers, and society madames: "If I have no Imari with octopus leg motifs, I am a nothing, so I must have some." The price of that porcelain soared but has come a cropper since. Otherwise, the price of Japanese antiques tends to depend on demand from outside, economic cycles, and the activities of the large auction houses overseas. These, in turn, depend on the currency. If the dollar falls too much, American and European dealers find it cheaper to buy from sources within their country until they run out of stock. Only after those sources dry up do they go back to Japan for another fix. Meantime, the prices of things appreciated

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