We may well be in for more impressive changes in the art market, which will affect not only the world-wide availability but also the attractiveness to fake and falsify more than ever before.
Smaller auction houses everywhere, the ones without qualified experts, are benefitting from the success the new collective catalogue-portals like Lot-tissimo Bidsquare, UKAuctioneers etc enjoy. We suddenly see small firms prosper by specialising in a niche. Whereever they are, clients will find them and have the acquisitions sent. The Dutch market for Indonesian pre-war painting has been fully usurped by an auctioneer in the not exactly centrally located town of Middelburg. And if an important piece of Chinese porcelain pops up unrecognized in a small town catalogue, it will be spotted by experts in Beijing. They will bid by phone or send a man. This new chance to surf the global market in the darkest corners is a great opportunity for the forgers guild, but moreover for those who excell in upgrading a mediocre work to a masterpiece. Liveauctioneers, Catawiki, Auctionata and the like are far less vetted and scrutinized with professional expertise than the established blue chip auction houses. I for one have great difficulty in working through this enormous supply that is presenting itself more and more by the day, blending authentic stuff with second rate, untouched with cleverly done up resulting in a global art soup. I hope somebody will soon come up with some clever software to personalize my cup and garantee some qualitity before it is served.
