Analyzing Antiqueness: A Response to Curtis and Baines

Must Antiques Be Technically Excellent? A Rejoinder to Killin

“…Indeed, this is precisely our view, and this is why we excluded art objects from our discussion. Killin does go on to say that whether this is so “remains to be established” (, 197), and with this we are also in agreement. But we think that there are sufficient grounds for thinking it to be true and so sufficient grounds to proceed as if it were true.…”

“…In his response, Anton Killin () takes issue with a certain aspect of our definition. He agrees with our view that the concept of an antique is an adjectival one and is at least happy to grant that those elements of the definition that relate to age are correct.…”

“…There is one further point that Killin makes regarding the technical excellence criterion. He argues that if a modern particle board desk does one day appear in an antique store or auction house and were to be considered as an antique by antique collectors and dealers, then we would be committed to thinking “that the antique collectors and dealers are simply getting it wrong in this case and ought to take heed of the prescriptivity of [our] conceptual analysis” (Killin , 195) On this point, we agree: Yes, we think they would simply be getting it wrong. The concept of an antique, we have no doubt, is a messy one that is used by dealers and collectors in inconsistent ways.…”

“…He “demonstrates” the inconsistency with the following example:

The artworld might bestow art status upon a (technically nonexcellent) modern, mass‐produced desk (it might have been put forward as a readymade piece by a highly esteemed artist, for instance), yet its technical facility is not improved upon by this new value (that is, art status), nor does its technical facility undergo an upgrade by becoming an item traded and collected by antique dealers and aficionados in due course, were that to be the case. (Killin , 196)

…”

Fictionalism about musical works

“…Consider an example a little closer to our subject matter. I endorse the adjectival thesis about antiques -that is, 'antique' is a modifier, not a kind sortal (Curtis and Baines 2016;Killin 2017). That any particular antique exists is grounded in the fact that a particular object (a particular desk, 24 say) exists that meets the requirements for antique status, whatever they may be.…”