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I am one of the few Certified Appraisers of Personal Property in the United States who specializes in Asian: art, antiquities, antiques, vintage and modern items. I am one of the few Certified Appraisers in the world who specializes in Fossil Identifications and Valuations, as I was the Curator of Paleontology at a Museum in Minnesota. Other areas I am adept at are; Militaria, Egyptian Artifacts and Western Fine Art.
Besides doing Certified Appraisals of Asian collectables, I have also written about and/or done authentications, verifications and valuations of such famous European and American artist's works as: Chagall, Kipniss, Kouba, Picasso, Rembrandt and Warhol, among others. I have authenticated a copy of the Instrument of Surrender of the Empire of Japan from World War II.
However, as it is my specialty, I have dealt with Asian items such as: traditional Chinese, Japanese and Korean landscape paintings, jade carvings (jadeite, nephrite and simulants), porcelain, textiles, furniture, thanka’s, bronzes (ancient and counterfeit), Tang and Han terracottas (ancient and counterfeit), Japanese wood block prints (ukiyo-e, shunga, etc.), ivory carvings, and various other items, from countries as diverse as: Afghanistan, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Pakistan, the Hmong Cultures, Indonesia, Iraq, Japan, the Koreas (United Korea, North Korea and South Korea), Laos, Malaysia, the Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Nepal, the Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Siam/Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan, Tibet, Turkey and Vietnam.
I have been trusted to closely examine and handle such interesting antiquities at Beijing University in China as a 16,000-year-old necklace and one of the original terracotta warriors from the famous site at Xi’an, as well as the more common Ming and Q’ing Dynasty items. I also had the privilege to have had access to fossils in their Department of Paleontology and other related Institutes throughout China. This included their respect in, and the great honor of, being the first Westerner to examine (at that time) their most recently found feathered dinosaur.
I started my business, "Asian Elegance, Direct Importer of Fine Asian Antiques" in December of 2000. I opened my retail gallery on August 31, 2001 at 50th and France in Edina/Minneapolis, Minnesota. I moved at the end of my lease after 4.5 years to a location in Wayzata, MN for a contract of 1.5 years and then moved in with a "partner" who tried to leave their business to me to run for them without any notice or discussion. I chose to close my retail gallery on December 31, 2007 and focus on my Certified Appraisal business instead. I was Certified by the Certified Appraisers Guild of America in March of 2005 and have focused on specializing in Certified Appraisals of Asian Art and Antiques ever since. It is a wonderful profession and it has allowed me to meet many interesting people all over the world and see many very exciting and important Asian pieces. My next goal is to complete my certification with the International Society of Appraisers (ISA) this year. My other goal is to finish my PhD. by the end of 2010 in Archeology with my thesis in the Relationship between Mongolian and Native American Symbolism through Genghis Khaan University in Ulaan Bataar, Mongolia under the tutalage of Dr. Kh. Lkhagvasuren. Dr. Lkhagvasuren is the world's number one autority on the History and Archeology of Genghis Khaan as well as one of the world's top authorities on Mongolian History and Archeology as well. This story will be continued… April 28, 2008.
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