Course overview

Antiques specialist and regular presenter on BBC Antiques Roadshow, Marc Allum teaches you how to collect and invest in antiques.

On this antiques course Marc will share his secrets on how to evaluate collectables, art and antiques and work out what you think is ‘the next big thing’.

Whether you're an amateur collector or professional antiques investor, this course will teach you what criteria to look for for an antiques and art investment portfolio, and inspire you to buy wisely.

Marc will look at how a diverse and interesting portfolio of art and antiques can behave rather like a well-balanced stock market portfolio. He'll show you how to plan around emerging markets, ‘getting in on the ground floor’ with new fields in collecting, following fashion and trends and how to avoid the pitfalls and invest long term.

You'll learn how to use supply and demand across markets including antique furniture and works of art, as well as understanding how to source art and antiques from markets and auction houses.

You'll learn

The philosophy of value and understanding art and antiques for investment
Practical market tips for buying in different situations.
Identifying the disparities between value and worth, who charges what and where best to spend your time searching for good investments.
Analysing the frailties and strengths of the market; the pros and cons of riding fashion and collecting fads, and profiting from economic peaks and troughs.
Anniversary investment planning.
How to spread your portfolio across a number of mediums to ensure safety in the long term and good overall returns - whatever the market conditions.
The psychology and nature of becoming a collector/investor rather than a dispassionate accumulator.
The analysis of art and antiques from an expert’s perspective and the concept of divining objects for their esoteric worth based on historical information, provenance, beauty and craftsmanship. (Not forgetting that some objects are not at all beautiful but are valuable too).

Time to complete collecting and investing in antiques course:

Every student is different but in general we think the whole course will take around 5 hours 45 mins to complete including:

Video lessons: 45 minutes
Assignments: at least 2 hours per lesson
Interactive classroom time: 15 minutes per lesson
Tutor feedback review (Expert level): 15 minutes per lesson

You'll need:

You don't need any special equipment, but you will be planning your own antiques and collectables portfolio and investment strategy.

The course is suitable for all levels - collectors to antiques professionals who want to learn from an antiques investment specialist.

The course includes:

2 on-demand video lessons - presented by Marc Allum
lifetime access to the videos, notes and interactive class
flexible classes - join and learn when and where you like
downloadable lesson notes
practical (optional) antiques portfolio project
access on your mobile, PC, Mac or laptop
small interactive online classroom chat online to students from around the world

Ready to get started?

Just add the course to your basket above - choose the 'Expert' option for personal feedback from Marc on your collecting strategy and questions.

Any questions? Contact us by clicking on the orange speech symbol - we'd love to hear from you.

Lesson summary

Knowledge is Key

Buying a new car can be stressful experience, so imagine that you are aiming to invest money for your future prosperity in an area in which you have little experience – such as art. It’s a daunting prospect. However, why not start from a position of greater security by making sure that the risks you take are significantly reduced. Humans have a propensity to prevaricate and their indecisiveness can be based on a number of factors. Lack of information and knowledge is perhaps foremost. The experience necessary to make good investment decisions is not easily attained – it can take a lifetime - but this lesson will help to provide you with an increased awareness of the variables at play, whilst bolstering your confidence and enabling you to make more intelligently informed, less hazardous decisions.

The Anatomy of Art and how to Understand Objects

In this lesson we'll look at the idea of analysis and deconstruction - understanding what makes some objects more desirable and therefore more valuable than others. In the first lesson we dealt with the practicalities of finding sources for buying, and how to work and operate in those different areas. Here, we look at the sometimes difficult ideas of how taste, personal opinion, sensitivity and academic skill can significantly alter the perception and value of an object, plus the processes that you can employ to play other people at this fascinating and sometimes profitable game.

Get the most from peer knowledge

Start course whenever you like
Practise what you learn with your peers
Online classroom with up to 20 classmates
Lessons with videos & notes
Course assignments
Group chat & direct message classmates
Lifetime access to videos, notes & classroom

meet the expert

Marc Allum

Acclaimed antiques expert and broadcaster who has contributed to 16+ books and is a longtime BBC Antiques Roadshow specialist.

Why choose Learning with Experts?

Start whenever it suits you, and immerse yourself in motivational lesson tutorials with expert guidance.

Enhance your learning and personal growth with lesson assignments. Each course includes an optional assignment at the end of every lesson.

Drop a friendly message or respond to your assignment feedback. Our world-class experts are just a click away, ready to help you!

Stay informed about your own progress and those of your peers, and take joy in celebrating achievements along the way.

Chat and share ideas with passionate communities of learners from around the world.

Frequently asked questions

What’s the difference between PEER and EXPERT options?

At Peer and Expert level, you get access to the same core content and features:

Video lesson tutorials led by your expert tutor
Downloadable lesson notes
Option to practise what you learn with lesson assignments
Group learning within an online interactive classroom of up to 20 classmates
Lifetime access to videos, notes and classroom

If you choose Expert level, you get all of the above plus the following:

Personalised assignment feedback and coaching from your expert tutor
Opportunity to interact with your expert tutor through a private messaging system
Certificate of completion.

What is an online classroom?

Our online classroom has been developed to allow you to learn from our experts in a sociable environment alongside up to 20 other students. After each video tutorial led by your expert, you will be encouraged to practice what you have learned with optional assignments - these can be seen by the other students in your class, who are free to share their own thoughts and questions with you.

You will be encouraged to take part in an ongoing class discussion where you can discuss ideas, post images or work, and comment on each other’s assignments. It’s a great way to learn from other like-minded people who share your passion from all over the world.

This means not only do you benefit from people who are outstanding in their field, but also from a close-knit group of like-minded people whom you can learn alongside. Group learning has shown to greatly improve not just the experience of studying, but also how well you retain the knowledge, and we have built our classroom experience around this fact.

When can I start my course and how long will it take?

You can start your course any time within 12 months after receipt of your purchase confirmation email. Once you start, you’ll have lifetime access — meaning you can revisit the lesson videos and notes whenever you want.

Our courses are designed so that you can study at your own pace, some prefer to binge learn while others like to spread their studying over a longer period of time - it’s completely up to you. To give you a rough time frame, each lesson video is approximately 30-40 minutes long, and we recommend that you spend around an hour on each assignment.

Support and full FAQs

If you need any help with a course, be it one you’ve started already, or one you are looking to purchase, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Support email address.

You can also use the orange speech bubble on your page to start a conversation with us.

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