Asian Art Consulting & Appraisal

I. General Rules

In order to proceed with the Chinese art appraisal, you need to supply us with high-quality digital photos. JPEG format is ideal, using a high resolution (dpi 200 or greater). If the files are small, you can send them by e-mail attachment. If they are large, they should be sent in batches by e-mail attachment (three files per e-mail) or, better yet, copied onto a CD and mailed to our office in New Jersey.

Angle. All photos should be taken facing the art object directly. In other words, the camera back should be perfectly parallel to the object surface.

Composing the frame. Take each photo standing as close to the object as is feasible for the shot. In other words, compose each shot to fill the camera frame as fully as possible.

Lighting. There must be enough light to see details and allow your camera to capture a crisp image. Indirect natural lighting (i.e. diffused sunlight) works best. A tripod helps immensely, if you have one. If you have to use flash, try to avoid a reflection.

Paintings behind Glass. Paintings behind glass, even the non-reflective type, do not photograph well. If possible, try to remove the painting from behind the glass. If that is not easily done (and in most cases I would NOT recommend it, since it easy to damage a painting when un-mounting it), try to use an indirect lighting source—either indirect sunlight or a lamp held at an angle to the painting (which will not reflect into the camera).

1. One photo of the art object showing its entirety. Be sure to include the top and bottom of the object.

2. Individual close-ups of all important artistic details - specific details (scenes, attributes, bottom, profile, etc.), seals (stamps), and any writing.

3. Close-ups of any areas of damage, plus close-ups of undamaged areas on the same object for visual analysis.

(Sample Photos for a Decorative Art Work)