Collectors: Being Cases Mostly Under The Ninth And Tenth Commandments

The collectors: being cases mostly under the ninth and tenth commandments assembles a sequence of stories and reflections on the world of art collecting, using fiction and satire to probe its moral and psychological dimensions. The book opens with a foreword that frames the tales as cautionary episodes rooted in the sins of covetousness and falsehood, suggesting that the art world often operates on desire, deception, and social pretense. Through a ballade and a series of character sketches, the author introduces eccentric collectors, cunning forgers, and glamorous patrons whose taste for beauty shades into a taste for possession and manipulation. Central figures include a skilled but unscrupulous picture forger, a polished "e;Great Lady"e; who outmanoeuvres an earnest expert, and a variety of enthusiasts whose obsession with owning art exposes their vanity and moral frailty. Across the narratives, the collection underscores the thin line between genuine connoisseurship and greed, between admiration and exploitation, inviting readers to question who truly serves the work of art and who is merely serving their own ego. In its blend of anecdote, irony, and moral reflection, the book offers a quietly critical portrait of the cultural rituals and ethical tensions that surround collecting.