We are Chinese art professionals with experience and integrity. Quality, honesty and transparency are our most important values. We never mislead you, and we will never ask you to pay for services that are unnecessary for achieving your goals. Our job is to provide you with objective advice. We are honest about the art you own and its likely performance in the current Chinese art market. The written reports we prepare are based on thorough research on the history, style, and artistic background of your art, as well as the recent performance of objects like it in the market place.
We are transparent in providing high-quality, professional services. Before we begin research, we state what you can expect in a written report, explain the way we figure costs, and ask for your approval in the form of an engagement letter. We insist that you understand the appraisal process before committing to it. We are happy to answer any questions, and we are often able to extend a discount for appraisal of multiple objects of a similar style or by the same artist or workshop.
We don't try to be an expert on all forms of Asian art, although we have been exposed to all major Asian cultural traitions and visual aesthetics in our graduate studies. We limit our practice largely to the areas in which we are qualified, by dint of our Ph.D. and M.A. degrees and our research experience: Chinese and Tibetan Art.
We take your art consulting and appraisal needs seriously. We pledge to serve you with expertise, integrity, and professionalism.
TESTIMONIALS from Our Clients
Meet Our Chinese Art Specialist
Dr. Wei Yang is a Chinese art specialist with a Ph.D in Chinese art and Tibetan Art. She is also a certified Fine and Decorative Art Appraiser. She appraises Chinese art of all categories, including painting, furniture, woodblock prints, textiles, wood/ivory carvings and scholarly objects (ink stones, brush holders, etc.). Dr. Yang also specializes in Chinese decorative arts, such as screens, jade, kesi tapestries, and Tibetan Buddhist fine arts (thangkas) and ritual objects.
Dr. Yang has had a long and successful career in different aspects of Chinese art and art connoisseurship. For more than 25 years, Wei Yang has been educating the public about Chinese art. For many years she ran the education division at the Dunhuang Research Academy (Mogao Caves) in Dunhuang (Gansu, China), the largest repository of Buddhist art in the world. Subsequently she moved to the U.S. and earned a B.A. degree in art history and an M.A. degree in East Asian Art at Smith College (Northampton, MA), and completed a Ph.D. degree in Chinese art and Tibetan art at Northwestern University (Evanston, IL) in 2005. Before she started her own art consulting & appraisal company, WEI YANG CHINESE ART, she held the position of Chinese Art Bibliographer for the Marquand Art Library at Princeton University for two and a half years.
Dr. Yang has never stopped sharpening her consulting & appraisal skills. She dedicated herself to the study of the Principles of Valuation by attending professional educational programs. She earned a certificate of Fine and Decorative Art Appraisal from Pratt Institute in New York in 2009. She successfully completed the four courses for Personal Property Valuation jointly offered by American Society of Appraisers (ASA) and Pratt Institute. She passed the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) exam developed by the Appraisal Foundation, an organization authorized by the U.S. Congress as the source of appraisal standards and appraisal qualifications, and the code of ethics exam administered by the American Society of Appraisers. She also took courses centering on the current art market. As an expert appraiser specializing in Chinese art, she complies with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) in her report preparation and conforms to the Code of Ethics in her practice. She limits her practice largely to the areas in which she is qualified, by dint of her Ph.D., M.A. and her research experience: Chinese and Tibetan Art.
Dr. Yang is an independent scholar, Chinese art adviser and certified appraiser. As an academic, she has committed herself to all Chinese artistic traditions, and dedicated herself to helping others understand and appreciate Chinese art. With a scholarly focus on Chinese painting and Buddhist art, doctoral training in Chinese art in general, up-to-date knowledge of the Chinese art market and Chinese art connoisseurship, as well as abilities in reading, speaking, and writing several Asian languages (Chinese, both classical and modern, Japanese, and some Tibetan), Dr. Yang guarantees that her clients are offered professional consulting and appraisal services of the highest quality.
HOW TO SELL YOUR CHINESE ART
Today, selling Chinese art can be a big problem. Almost everybody finds it difficult to initiate a sale, and if you need help, there is the added headache of finding the right agent to represent you in the Chinese art market. Many people begin by contacting famous auction houses, but very few art owners receive an insightful response—sometimes no word at all. Others spend hours on the internet without any concrete results. Many of you end the process of trying to sell yourr art with no knowledge about whether your object is worth anything or where to place it for sale. Do these frustrations sound familiar?
The most important thing to remember is that in order to sell any fine object of art, you need to posses solid information and formulate an educated strategy for the market. These are the two goals of a summary Consultation Appraisal for Disposition: to provide the owner with the information needed to understand and appreciate the art object, and to suggest a clear strategy for sale based on analysis of the current Chinese art market. A competent art consultant or appraiser will guide you through the process with a clear vision in mind. A responsible appraiser with a set of special language skills will enlighten you on the nature of your object, whether authentic or forgery, while assigning a value conclusion to your art work.
The quality of an appraisal and the ability of your appraiser matter seriously in the real world. Clients need to remember that a high estimate does not guarantee a high return (especially if the object is misidentified), and that even if your object is a reproduction or fake, that does not mean it is worthless. Understanding these fine points and educating you about them is the job of a qualified, professional appraiser. Hence it is important that you be able to assess the qualifications of any prospective appraiser.
Ask your appraiser questions and investigate his/her qualifications before commiting to an appraisal. What educational degrees, from which institutions, and in what fields, has the appraiser earned? Does the appraiser read, write and speak Chinese? Can he or she identify or translate the calligraphic inscription on your painting? Does he/she understand marks on porcelain objects? Can he or she tell you what language is contained on, for instance, a porcelain incense burner, whether it is Mongolian, Manchu, Sanskrit, Chinese, Japanese, or Tibetan? Does the potential appraiser understand different schools of Chinese art, and is he or she able to explain the qualities of the brushwork in fine art? Remember that you must be confident of your appraiser's qualifications and skills.
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