Price levels on the Czech market

What are price levels on the Czech market?

Price levels are the approximate tiers into which works on the Czech market fall according to price. These are not fixed boundaries but rather a map that helps you get your bearings on what costs roughly how much. Put simply, it is a way of forming a picture of how far your wallet reaches and what you can acquire at each level.

How does it work?

The tiers run roughly as follows: prints around a thousand crowns, ordinary works in the tens of thousands, good works in the hundreds of thousands, and the leading names — the most sought-after artists — above half a million crowns and higher. The higher you climb, the rarer and more thoroughly tested the works you find. That is precisely why this scale serves as a good map for new collectors still looking for a place to begin.

Why does it matter to a collector or investor?

Because knowing the levels helps you tell whether a price is reasonable or inflated. When you know that ordinary works run in the tens of thousands, you can more easily judge when an offer is favourable and when it is overreaching. For a beginner it is above all a way of entering the market thoughtfully, without heading straight for the top tier.

What should you watch out for?

These values are only indicative; a particular price is always decided by the artist, the quality, the period and the condition of the work. So do not take a tier as a fixed price list but as a rough guide. And be careful: not even the top level guarantees a profit — a high price in itself does not mean a work will keep rising.

— Anna Pulkertová, founder of Art Part Club