Art advisor and appraiser in Milan

My work in Milan

Milan is the centre of the Italian art market and the city in which my practice took shape. I work with modern and contemporary art. I am registered as an expert with the Milan Chamber of Commerce and on the register of court-appointed technical consultants (CTU) at the Court of Milan, and I am an Accredited Member of the Appraisers Association of America (AAA) and a member of ICRA and CRSA. In Milan I examine works at the client's premises, at the offices of the professionals advising them, or wherever the works are held.

My appraisal reports are prepared in accordance with USPAP and IVS and are written to be read by people who are not in the art trade: notaries, private bankers, trustees, loss adjusters and judges. Every value is reasoned, tied to an effective date and to a stated purpose, and accompanied by my statement of independence. Reports can be issued in English or in Italian.

What I do

I prepare appraisals of works kept in homes, offices and storage facilities in Milan and the surrounding area: to update insured values, to divide an estate between heirs, for a donation, to assess damage, or when a work is pledged as collateral. Every appraisal is written and signed.

I conduct art-historical research and due diligence on works of art. I reconstruct their history: provenance, exhibition history and literature, archive registrations and certificates, scholarly opinions and any scientific analyses. This work can be useful before a purchase or a sale, when doubts arise about a work already in a collection, or when registration with the artist's archive is being prepared. It ends with a documented file that points out any gaps or inconsistencies.

Whether the works are in a single home or divided between several residences, in Milan, on the lake or abroad, or held in storage, I keep the collection inventory to the Object ID standard: a record and a file for each work, with photographs and locations, movements and loans, in a confidential digital archive. I coordinate conservators and fine art shippers and monitor the condition of the works over time.

I advise collectors on acquisitions and sales, through galleries, at auction or by private treaty, and on developing a collection over time, in Italy and abroad.

When I have appraised a work, I do not handle its sale: appraisal and advisory remain separate engagements.

For professional advisers and wealth structures

In Milan the request for a valuation often comes from those who administer significant assets rather than from the owner: private bankers, family offices, fiduciary companies, accountants, notaries and insurance brokers, typically for collections to be valued in estates, family agreements or corporate and institutional holdings.

Each appraisal answers one stated purpose and says so: an insurance replacement value is not a fair market value, and a report prepared for one intended use does not transfer to another. Tax, succession and contractual matters remain with the professionals who handle them, to whom the appraisal provides a clear and documented technical basis.

Court and party-appointed expert work

In civil proceedings concerning works of art the judge may appoint a court technical consultant (CTU): I am on the register of court experts at the Court of Milan and have been appointed by several courts. I also act for private clients and law firms as a party-appointed expert (CTP), assisting the client during the expert examinations.

Method

Every work is examined in person. The report sets out the identification of the work, a description of its condition, the reconstruction of its exhibition history, literature and provenance, the analysis of market comparables and the reasoning behind the valuation approach adopted. The assumptions on which the valuation rests, and any limiting conditions, are stated openly. Delivery times and fees are agreed in writing before the engagement begins.

From Como to Lombardy and Switzerland

My studio is in Como, at via Lambertenghi 41, and I work across Lombardy, Switzerland and internationally. For Lake Como, see the page on Como; for Ticino, the page on Lugano and Ticino.