The Validity of Islamic Art as an Investment

Abstract

This paper investigates the validity of Islamic Art as an investment product. We examine the current and future market potential, as well as, performing a hedonic regression analysis on London auction sales from 1998 to 2007. The main findings of the research are; Islamic art returns out performed both the equity and debt markets over the last 10 years; increases in oil prices have a positive effect on art prices, Islamic terrorist attacks on the Western World significantly reduce the value of Islamic art; and that the increase in future buyers means the Islamic art market has the potential to grow very strongly over the coming years. All these indicate the strong potential of this form of art as an investment.

Keywords: art, hedonic regression, islamic finance

JEL Classification: Z10