Member-only story
When the World Shifts: The Changing Value of Art and Artifacts
The art market demonstrates it
When the world experiences profound shifts, whether political, technological, cultural, or environmental, the value we put on art and artifacts transforms in response.
These changes reflect not just market economics but deeper evolutions in what society treasures, remembers, and seeks to preserve.
Historical shifts often redefine what we consider valuable.
Art that once adorned palace walls might later become a symbol of oppression after a revolution.
Everyday objects, previously unremarkable can transform into priceless artifacts that document vanished ways of life.
The Soviet propaganda posters that were mass-produced became collectors’ items after the fall of communism.
Native American artifacts, once dismissed by colonizers as primitive, are now recognized as masterpieces of artistic and cultural expression.
Technological revolutions reshape our relationship with material culture.
