This is all a great way of describing why art works as a money laundering or tax evasion scheme.
Can you elaborate further on the tax evasion part? The money laundering part I can see since the value of art is subjective and volatile, but how does what OP said explain how art can be used for tax evasion?
The artwork is then given to a museum as a charitable donation for a tax write-off, or so the story goes.
I've seen a lot of ancient art in museums. I have simply no desire to spend $$$ acquiring them simply because they are old.
I did buy some concrete gargoyles created by a local artist, probably a replica of one from a European church. I mounted them on the driveway entrance to scare away unwanted visitors.
Art as a tool for storing Mana: https://medium.com/luminasticity/art-as-a-tool-for-storing-m...
Heritage has great value. It is one of the few things that cannot be manufactured at will.
Also, since its uniqueness holds its value, its value becomes a "strange attractor". You can put a lot of money into one of these artifacts, fairly sure to get most or more back. Since future buyers will have a similar assurance. So it isn't money thrown away, but money stored in a medium the provides satisfaction and pride.
Not so different from buying real estate in some exclusive area for some crazy price. It really isn't that crazy if you are likely to get your money back later if you want. Likely at a higher amount due to a growing economy pushing prices up.
Crazy would be spending millions on something unique then grinding it up.