Management And Protection Of Ancient Books In The Auction Process

Since the Chinese bookstore first auctioned ancient books in 1992,and in 1994,China Guardian International Auction Co.,Ltd.launched the "rare ancient books" auction for the first time.The auction of ancient books has been in the Chinese cultural relics and art auction market for nearly 30 years.Although ancient books are still a niche lot in the art market compared with popular categories such as calligraphy,jade and porcelain,there are still many categories of ancient books existing in the art market,and its concept in the auction market is also all-encompassing.As the carrier and preacher of Chinese civilization,the historical,artistic and academic value contained in ancient books has attracted more and more attention in the current environment that advocates reading for all.At the same time,the price of ancient books in the auction market has not yet developed to match its own value.Compared with the bubble phenomenon caused by popular auctions under the agitation of frenetic market,the price trend of ancient books is still relatively stable.Therefore,the ancient books is now one of the art types with great investment potential in the market.The paper observed auction activities from the perspective of ancient book protection and dissemination,and studied the management process,value discovery and protection of ancient books in the auction process.It could provide some scientific suggestions for companies,buyers and sellers that are entering the field of ancient book auctions and are currently auctioning ancient books to promote the healthy development of ancient book auctions.At the same time,from the perspective of ancient book protection and dissemination,auction,as one of the ways in circulating ancient books nowadays,standardizes its entire process and improves its various systems can also give the protection of ancient books to a considerable extent.The management of ancient books in the auction process mainly refers to the care and custody of the lot beginning from the collection in auction company and ended in the final auction activity,when it is handed over to the buyer or returned to the client due to unsold auctions.The collection,transportation,preservation,exhibition,and delivery of a lot will be included.The value excavation of ancient books mainly lies in expounding the academic value of ancient books in a simple and clear way.The method of excavation mainly relies on the study of the origin and transferation of ancient book editions,together with the assistance of previews and catalogues.The paper refered to discoveries by rare ancient books special in Xiling Yinshe's2013-2017 and China Guardian's auction data.Ancient books with clear version or orderly collation can often be sold at high prices.In addition to the safety management of the lot during the auction process,the protection of ancient books in the auction process also include the restoration of damaged books.Today's art market,including ancient books,is facing a problem which is the reducing in market sentiment caused by tight supplimentary.In order to solve this problem,auction companies can consider to take up parts of the ancient book restoration work,which could not only increase the number of auction items but broaden the collection channels so as to inject fresh blood into the ancient book auction market as well.