The FINANCIAL — Big businesses are struggling through a painful recession, and antiques which are not a big business in Tbilisi are on the tail of the downward tendency. With a weak economy and the general belt-tightening that it has induced, antique merchants in Tbilisi are adjusting to the harsh reality of lower sales and fewer customers.
“I’m an art critic myself and doing this business is what I love. This occupation is out of the mainstream and I hope that love for what I do will allow me to endure tough times. For me 95% of the fun is hunting for the items. The sales are going down day by day and one of the reasons is the financial crisis. People don’t want to spend money on luxury in these hard times. They’d rather save money, as nobody knows how long the crisis will last,” says Tamar Shanidze.
As people are cutting their spending to necessities only, antique shop owners see their antiques often don’t make that list.
“If things don’t change many of the antique shops in Tbilisi’s old part will probably close down. The taxes are too high and nobody can face such pressure,” Shanidze adds.
“Furniture is the most in demand at the shop. Those buying furniture are mainly older people. Younger ones show no interest in antique furniture because they don’t want to take the time or effort to refinish pieces. Also, antique pieces often don’t fit modern appliances like large TVs and computer systems. As for paintings and vases demand was low and is becoming even lower.”
If a painting was bought for USD 500 five months ago, the same painting would be sold for only USD 350 today, explains one of the vendors.
Besarion Darjania, owner of Gallery Cameo on Rkinis Rigi (near Metekhi Bridge), claims that sales are down by nearly 80% and average prices have decreased by more than 25%.
“Before the August events and financial crisis sales were doing well and I had even decided to buy a flat. The buyers were mainly tourists, locals and some collectors. The prices changed when the GEL rate fell compared with USD. Currently I’m trying to keep prices steady. I own the shop and am quite lucky not to have to pay rent,” he states.
“I think today it’s nearly impossible to pay rent, taxes and still be in the antiques business. Different communal taxes such as electricity, telephone, internet plus advertising cost round GEL 400-500 monthly. The rest of revenues are just enough not to go hungry,” Darjania continues.
“Today galleries and antiques shops are under the pressure of a very tough taxation policy. The galleries have to pay the same VAT (value added tax) as commercial shops do. The thing is that we are a middleman between the artist and the buyer. The revenue that we get is normally equal to 20-30% of the item sold. So when an item is sold for GEL 100, we get GEL 20-30.But according to the Georgian tax policy we have to pay VAT for the whole GEL 100 and not the revenue.”
“This is really a huge pressure to bear. Something needs to be done about it. Plus if annual sales exceed GEL 100,000, we have to pay additional 18% from those 20-30%. Can you imagine what is left,” Darjania raises the question.
In May 2001 “The Artists Illustrated Encyclopedia” was published in Cincinnati (USA, Ohio), where Besarion’s work was included as the master cameo sample on mammoth tusk.
Gallery Cameo was founded in 2005. It is a private gallery in Tbilisi’s old district, near Metekhi Bridge. The gallery presents a permanent exhibition of Besarion Darjania’s art, cameos on shell and mammoth tusk, a variety of works by contemporary Georgian artists, applied and jewellery art – handmade porcelain, cloisonné enamel adornments (silver, gilded silver), Georgian master’s handmade hunting knives, ceramics, wood carved works, small sculptures from bone, metal, pictures made by bird feather and other works of fine art.
The gallery also provides a service in preparing the necessary documents for the export of purchased paintings.
For most antique shops the fickleness of the antique market adds to the difficulty in providing for the consumer. With contemporary shoppers looking for anything from an old soviet painting with Lenin in it to a 19th century vase, vendors can’t carry everything, and sales depend on who walks in on a given day. Most antique merchants are buyers as well as sellers, who regularly visit other shops in Tbilisi in search of items for their own collections or a specific customer.
“The number of tourists has decreased dramatically and in times of such financial difficulties nobody needs antiques and pieces of art anymore,” Darjania concludes.'
Written By Levan Lomtadze
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