Art World (sage field)
Art world is a sage field available to bards, familiarising the character with the overarching network of persons producing, commissioning, presenting, preserving, promoting, criticising and selling art of every kind. Within the field are an untold numbers of hidden or obscure subcultures, with their own art markets and design movements, representing many overlapping motives and ideals.
The field includes the following sage studies:
- Auctionhouse: the institution that exists to buy and sell artistic works, appraise the value of works, recognize and expose forgeries and providing a liaison between artists and the public.
- Black Market: the underground movement, forgery, illegal sale and fencing of stolen art, acting as a shadow house of sale for works that cannot be sold at auction due to their illegality.
- Patronage: the act of appealing to and receiving financial support and ongoing commissions from members of the elite, be they merchants, nobles, religious leaders or persons of questionable motives.
Through this complex arrangement of cultures and conventions, the character understands the manner in which art works, and many other services, materials and goods, are produced and consumed. Through the sage abilities provided, the character learns how to "fit in," becoming a significant figure in the process of social change.
