How to become a judgment device: valuation practices and the role of auctions in the emerging Chinese art market

This article studies the role of judgment devices in the emergence of markets for singularities. In particular, it seeks to understand how specific judgment devices become dominant in resolving uncertainty within these markets. Building on Karpik’s seminal theory, we argue that institutional environments (e.g. government regulations, political economic factors, the level of informality within business environments) as well as the level of...