Thank you Ian, yes, this is more or less how I understood your post that began this thread, & that is an idea that has made it very difficult for me to come to terms with the concepts involved in the actual production of such objects.
It can be quite a journey from the point where the eventual existence of an object is contemplated, to the point where a person looks at the finished object & then considers that he is looking at a work of art.
Such a journey might cross time, as well as cultural & societal boundaries and at its final destination can well be subject to an opinion that has been formed by standards & experience that are vastly different to the standards of a previous time and a different place.
In this Forum we are dealing with sharp pointy things, however what I have just written can apply to the broad range of all things that are, & have been, products of humanity.
Drawing a line of demarcation between the creations of artists, craftsmen and just plain competent tradesmen can be rather difficult, if not impossible:- a competent tradesman in one place & time might be considered to be a talented artist in a different place & time.
The object that we see as a work of art could well have been simply the required standard in a different time & place.
Please forgive me, I do sometimes have the tendency to overthink things a bit too much.
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