Provenance Standards
Understanding the history and ownership of art is essential to its value and authenticity. Learn how we document and verify provenance for every piece.
What is Provenance?
Provenance is the documented history of an artwork's ownership, from its creation to the present day. A complete provenance record establishes authenticity, legality, and often significantly impacts value.
For antiquities, provenance also encompasses archaeological context, export documentation, and compliance with international cultural property laws.
Documentation
Sales records, invoices, catalog entries
Ownership History
Chain of custody from creation
Legal Compliance
Export permits, UNESCO verification
Digital Certificate
Verifiable authenticity record
Our Provenance Requirements
Pre-1970 Documentation
For antiquities, we require documented ownership prior to the 1970 UNESCO Convention to ensure legal compliance with international cultural property laws.
Complete Chain of Custody
We trace ownership from the most recent sale back through all known previous owners, documenting each transfer with supporting evidence.
Export Verification
All items are verified against international databases of stolen art and checked for proper export documentation from their countries of origin.
Expert Review
Our provenance specialists review all documentation and may conduct additional research through archives, museums, and scholarly sources.
Digital Provenance
Digital art is documented with verifiable certificates of authenticity and ownership history. We maintain secure records of creator verification, edition information, and transaction history in our archives.
Our digital certificates provide transparency and support resale verification.
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