The Meanings of Discounts in Contemporary Art Markets: The Case of India

Abstract

Although discounts in art markets are commonplace, the phenomenon remains largely unresearched. This paper looks at how art market actors understand the functions of discounts, focusing on ‘suppliers’ of the market and drawing on qualitative interviews with artists and art dealers from New Delhi and Mumbai, conducted in January–April 2013. The theoretical basis of this paper is a cultural sociological stance on the functioning of markets, showing how a shared system of norms and values affects the operation of a market. Two circuits of commerce are distinguished in the Indian art market: internationally oriented artists and dealers, whose attitude towards discounts is shaped by the desire to defend the aesthetic value of art; and locally oriented artists and dealers, who are positive about giving discounts and embrace them as a legitimate element of their national culture.

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