Posted by Erol Abit on June 07, 1999 at 17:14:35:
In Reply to: Bad advice posted by Wendel Swan on June 07, 1999 at 15:00:29:
Dear Wendel,
It is difficult to ignore your post without responding. I think the advice "buy things only you really like" is given when the advicer wants to escape from the field after all his/her accumulated knowledge is exhausted, when there is nothing left to say anythings anymore, also when she/he is squeezed between the "knowledge" (the thing that requires agreements) and "liking" (does not require agreements).
What can I learn from collectors if I were planning to be a collector? If we don't take the investment purposes into account, the only thing I will have learned from collectors at the end of learning process is, I think, their "democratic love". I mean by this that follow "voting for what rug you love" to learn the best rug you will like.
By the way, I wonder what collectors' main focuses are? Historical, Cultural or Aesthetical? I sense that "historical" aspect is playing most significant role because almost all of collectors are first attracted by "antiquity".
Finally, my answer to the questions. I as one who is a very experienced collector (perhaps with longer experience than many collectors) will answer some of questions only.
Do you still keep your first rug? Yes, I do since I owned it 5 years ago.
Do you display it? Yes, I do. (see my page).And many people have seen it when it was traveling with me from city to city for some years.
Which advice can you give to a novice collector? Well, I will advice him/her to read "the summary" which will be written at the end of this talk...:)
Regards,
Erol