It would be legitimate to think that my words of yesterday were directed at someone. That is not the case. I view expertise as an overused term that has lost its meaning, unfortunately. I would rather that expertise was venerated, but my point is that as a concept, it is not something the usual buyer can understand. The nuances of great expertise are difficult to define and arer really understood only by the cognoscenti.
There are also various facets of expertise as I said yesterday. There is market expertise which is both important and necessary for the dealer. I have to laugh when Americans go to England to buy thinking that they can beat the market. The market is just not that provincial anymore. Prices for top lots are universal. People buying and selling at auction are equally provincial in their thinking if they think that they can “beat” the dealers.
Real furniture expertise from the understanding of style, construction, materials, condition as well as knowing what to do with something that is in a bad way is very hard earned. It takes a lot of years and a lot of looking to earn it and most of the top dealers in London and New York have it in varying degrees. But this is a tricky business. Just because someone is right once does not make them right every time. I would have to include myself in this assessment.