LIKE the drinking of tea, collecting teapots can become an addiction. But it is a popular one among those who consider a few pieces of fine art, or even fine craftwork, to be an asset in any investment portfolio.
While the debate about whether or not art is an investment goes on Yixing teapot with no conclusion, serious buyers continue to bid high prices at Sotheby’s and Christie’s auctions. Others haunt galleries, while the would-be art collectors scour markets for a piece to get them started.
And while it is, admittedly, more difficult to dissolve artwork into cash than it is with gold or diamonds, art has a value which is difficult to define in dollars.
The value of most commodities reflects their rarity, the need for them, or the ease with which they can be traded.
Art, though, has a special place. Does any broker or investor love his blue chip stock, appreciate looking at his government bonds or enjoy showing off  purple clay teapots his forex account to dinner guests in the same way the art collector draws attention to his original Van Gogh hanging on the wall?
As Mr Charles Garnett, sales and marketing manager for Altfield Interiors, points out, the benefit of investing in art is double-edged.
It has both aesthetic appeal and intelligently chosen pieces can return high yields.
“In other words, one of the criteria for buying a painting, or a piece of ceramic, should be that you like it,” said Mr Garnett.
Like any investment, every piece of art carries flying lanterns the risk that someone else might not be prepared to pay more than you paid for it.
Of all assets, art is personal and in the eye of the beholder. To buy strictly for investment is a trap.