Chinese Art Appraisal & Consulting Services
Dr. Wei Yang is an art historian appraiser specializing in Asian art with a concentration on Chinese art. She earned a B.A. in art history (1997), M.A. in Asian art (1998) from Smith College (Northampton, MA) and a Ph.D. in Chinese art and Tibetan Art (2002) from Nothwestern University (Evanston, IL). With two prossional appraiser's designations-Accredited Senior Appraiser in Asian art (ASA, 2010-2025) and Appraisal Review and Management (ARM, 2017-2025)-from American Society of Appraisers, and a certificate of Fine Art and Decorative Art (2008) from Prett Institute (New York), Dr. Yang serves her clients with professional integrity, competence, and objectivity. She complies with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) and the code of ethics for appraisers in her practice. She understands art owner's moral obligation to a heirloom and financial responsibility to have it appraised in order to make an informed decision. She is determined help art owners find practical solutions at the minimum cost. She firmly believe that having an appraisal is not the only solution since not every piece of art work merit full professional attention. Therefore, when an art owner requests an appraisal, Dr. Yang is not eager to solicit the assignment but willing to listen to the owner's needs, concerns, plan and budget. Once she understands the owner's needs, she will propose the most appropriate appraisal plan that answers the owener's wishes.
Dr. Yang is committed to serve you with integrity, honesty and transparency. She usually recommend a Preview My Artwork of the subject property for appraisal before commissioning a full appraisal. She believes that anybody's hard-earned money should be spent on a worthy project. She complies with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) in developing the appraisal and reporting the final value conclusion. To help her client understand appraisal options, Dr. Yang follows the USPAP to outline the appraisal options with explanation. She is very generous in articulating the appraisal procedure, methodologies and issues relevant to the subject property. A typical written appraisal report starts with an identification, description and visual analysis of the art work in question, followed by a proper ranking of the property among its equals in rarity, quality, date of creation, artist or workshop and condition, closed by a value assessment that reflects the market desirability of the subject property in an appropriate open market. In the report, Dr. Yang will discuss the similarities and differences between the subject property and its close comparables, in order to share the train of appraiser's thoughts that lead to the final value reconcilation. Dr. Yang structured her appraisal report to demystify the evaluation of Asian art. She explains the adopted valuation methodology in plain language, points the owner to the most appropriate market for disposition and achieve his goals in complete conformity with the law.
The scope of work determines the appraisal cost. Dr Yang offers Asian art consultation and appraisal services at an affordable rate. Because she believes that art owners should have access to the elite art consultation and appraisal services, and they deserve some professional compassion or generosity.
Option I: Restricted Appraisal
The Restricted Appraisal Report (Level I) is restricted to the client as the only intended user. It might be sufficient to meet a narrowly-defined appraisal needs, such as curiosity or value consultation. This appraisal report meets a narrowly defined need of the intended user. Due to its succinct nature, parts of the report, particularly, the appraiser's opinions and reasoning for value conclusion, may not be discussed in detail and the analysis of facts and data leading to the conclusion is not fully spelled out. However, if you are considering a general understanding of what you have and its potential and under no obligation to share the report with third parties, this appraisal option may work for you.
A Restricted Appraisal report does not meet the industry standard for insurance and tax-related purposes. Because information included in the report is NOT sufficient to help resolve insurance settlement or taxation-related disputes. It is NOT acceptable for the dissolution of marriage or business, and bankruptcy, etc.. If your property is valuable or of high quality, you should consider a standard appraisal (Level II).
Option II: Appraisal Report
(Contents of an Appraisal Report)
An Appraisal Report serves general appraisal purposes.. It is suitable for insurance coverage & claim, state planning & distribution, marriage dissolution, Pre-nuptial agreement, and bankruptcy, as well as tax-related purposes. Information included in a standard appraisal report includes the appraiser's analysis of the subject property (Identification, description, qualitative ranking and marketability, etc.) and the rationale for his or her value conclusion in a clear, logical and orderly manner. It offers a reasonable amount of information critical to a full understanding of the subject property and related issues, allowing the intended users, such as insurance agents, attorneys, estate executives or IRS, to make an informed decision.
A properly done appraisal report is informative and educational. Information included equips the reader with the knowledge of an expert to achieve his goals with expet's knowledge and confidence. IIn the report, Dr. Yang reports her findings on your property in terms of originality, quality, craftsmanship, aesthetics and the recent performance of items of compatible features in its most appropriate market place. Her market analysis is tailored to highlight the appraisal precedure, such as ranking your property among its equals recently sold, introducing qualified comparables, and discussing the facts that may affect value. If the intended use is for sale, the market analysis and the discussion of close comparables should shed light on the likely performance of the subject property at its most active marketplace. If the appraisal is intended for insurance agent or attorney, the self-explanatory presentation would light up the train of the appraiser's thought and the reasoning that lead to the convincing final value conclusion. Whether marketing the property on your own, working with an insurance claim agen or a divorce lawyer, negotiating with a buyer, or hiring a sales agent, an appraisal report will support you at all levels of presentation.
Option III: Customised Research or Appraisal Report
Dr. Wei Yang offers research support to art owners. With her doctorial training in Chinese art, history, philosophy, religion and four decades of hand-on experience on major forms of Asian art, Dr. Yang assists art owners with their research project requiring graduate level of research and writing skills. Dr. Yang welcomes interesting and challenging research assignment since the type taks plays her intellectual strength. She is particularly interested in studying items of unique features, ranking high in rarity, quality and aesthetics or authorship. Art works that are not well attested in the standard sources and references and art works by marginal artists or workshops always excites her curiosity. The fee for research support is determined by the nature of the subject property, owner's objectives and time needed to complete the project.
A Research Report serves Chinese art collectors of quality art objects. Either you are building up a quality Chinese art collection or learning to appreciate what you have collected or inherited, the kind of research Dr. Yang conducts is of professional depth. She is willing to put her doctoral training in Chinese art, history and religion, her specialiszed knowledge of Chinese classical scripts and her mastery of a set of unique Asian language skills at your service. If Dr. Yang accepts your assignment, you are guaranteed to receive a high quality research or appraisal reprot that containing the information you need, guidance you seek and advice you desire.
Dr. Wei Yang is a highly trained art professional. Art is Dr. Yang's passion and research is her strengh. Dr Yang's qualifications and skills are unmatched in the field. Apart from the graduate degrees from prestigious universities (Smith College and Northwestern University) in the United States, she equips herself with two appraisal related certificates from Prett Institute and Shandong Painting Conservation Academy. She also earned two professional designations- Accredited Senior Appraiser in Asian art(ASA, 2010-2025) and Appraisal Review and Management (ARM, 2017-2025). She has four dacades of hand-on research experience with Asian art. Dr. Yang reads a few Asian languages, such as Chinese, Japanese and some Tibetan. She understands Asian art traditions, cultural myths, painting and sculptural techniques as well as visual aesthetics. Dr. Yang is a competent art professional who delivers the highest Asian art consultation and appraisal services.For more information, please Contact Dr. Wei Yang
How to Select Appraisal Options
The two appraisal reporting options differ in the amount of information provided and the intended use of the report. A Restricted Appraisal states the basic information relevant to the subject propert, serving art owners with a limited goal and modest budget. An Appraisal Report summarizes important details in a concise manner, serving art owners with general appraisal needs such as insurance, sale, consultation, tax-related purposes.
Being specific about your appraisal needs will certainly cut down the cost. The amount of information you request determines the appraisal cost. The more you want, the more expensive an appraisal is.
Step 1: Identify your need with a specific focus (insurance, sale estate distribution or tax, etc.). Consider how much imformation you need to achieve your goal. For example, you may not need an appraisal to sell art works and antiques. A Restricted-Use appraisal might be sufficient if you need some professional guidance on identification, marketing and value estimates. Not all art works merit full professional attention.
Step 2: Think about why you need an appraisal and your budget for appraisal. Sometimes, you may not need an appraisal at all. For example, for insurance coverage, if your art work is of modest value, including it in your house insurance might be a better option as compared with a special art coverage. For sale, marketing it yourself at an active online sales venue or consign it directly to a suitable auction house might be more appropriate than having it appraised without considering its merits. Sometimes, considering a preview of your property for appraisal might be sufficient. Preview information is available at Preview My Artwork.
Step 3: An ethical art professional will not help you sell what he or she has appraised. Dr. Wei Yang neither buy or sell art works or antiques she appraises. She only offers independent appraisal services.
Questions? Please Contact Dr. Wei Yang for a brief consultation
Discounted Collection Rate
A discounted collection rate in the form of flat fee is available if the subject collection has more than 10 itesm for appraisal. The break-downs depend on the nature of the properties for appraisal. For example, a deeper discount would be applied to a collection of fine arts, but less is suitable for a mixed collection (painting, ceramics, jade, decorative arts, etc.) due to the different scopoe of work for each category. In other words, the nature of a collection, scope of work, and time required for completing the research and composing the report, determined the discount scale. Dr. Yang is sensible to cut down the appraisal cost without challenging the quality of the appraisal. o
Painting and Calligraphy; Decorative Arts; Antique Furniture; Antique Textiles
Ceramics; Buddhist Art; Tibetan Art; Jade
Dr. Wei Yang is not trying to be an Asian for all forms of Asian art. She will invite other experts to join her for a thorough investigation of an artwork in question if necessary because she cares deeply about the reliability of her value conclusion. Dr. Yang will design an appraisal plan that suits your appraisal needs and budget. A signed engagement letter and a retainer are required to engage Dr. Yang's services.
What You Pay For
Dr. Wei Yang NEVER sell you services you do not need. You pay ONLY for the appraisal or consulting services suitable to your needs. Dr. Yang only recommends services to you based on the information you provide and the goal you wish to achieve. Her job is to help you appreciate your art work, understand it, and make an informed decision based on the objective fact-supported value conclusion. She often run extra miles for you at no additional cost if additional information is useful to the owner.
Dr. Wei Yang helps you meet your goals at the minimum cost. Although a thorough investigation of your property is impossible if your budget is limited, Dr. Yang makes every effort to present you a quality appraisal report that complies with the industry standards.
If you are not certain about what you have or what to do with it, considering a preview of your property for appraisal is wise. Preview information is available at Preview My Artwork. After reviewing three or four photos of your art work (front, back, and a close-up of inscription or mark), examine the property's value characteristics and condition, Dr. Yang will tell you HONESTLY if your property merits an appraisal or not. If your property is of some market appeal, Dr. Yang usually makes some recommendations in her review comments to assist you to make an informed decision.
You don't have to be an art expert before you contact an art professional--otherwise you probably would not be seeking a professional art appraiser in the first place! Dr. Wei Yang is happy to help you find a suitable solution to your appraisal needs.
Need Asian Art Appraisal? Starting with a preview of the subject property for appraisal is wise. Preview information is available at Preview My Artwork.
