Collection management

Managing a collection

Managing a collection requires time, specific expertise and attention that does not end with a single intervention. I support clients on an ongoing basis at every stage of the collection's life, from cataloguing to conservation, from logistics to administration, with one clear aim: to preserve and enhance its value over time.

Many private and family collections lack systematic cataloguing. A detailed inventory, with descriptive records, high-resolution photographs and, on request, provenance research and an up-to-date valuation of the works, is the tool on which the protection of the collection, wealth planning and the transfer to the next generation are based.

What I do

Cataloguing and inventory

Whether the works are in a single home, spread across several residences in Italy and abroad or held in vaults and storage, I compile the inventory of the collection to the international Object ID standard. Each work has a record with photographs and a confidential digital file that tracks its location, movements, loans and conservation treatments.

Conservation

I coordinate the work of conservators and restorers who specialise in each type of work, and who are responsible for condition reports and treatments. Through periodic checks on the condition of the works, I flag in good time when intervention is needed.

Logistics, installation and loans

I organise and oversee the transport of works between residences, storage facilities and exhibition venues with specialised fine art shippers, and handle hanging, installation and lighting. I manage the entire loan process for exhibitions, from the request to the return of the work, including the conservator's condition report on departure and return, insurance and transport documents.

Documents

I bring together the documentation of each work in a single archive: purchase records, certificates and archive registrations, correspondence, appraisals, condition reports and insurance policies. For inherited works, which often have no purchase invoice, I gather the evidence that documents their history: dated photographs, inventories and insurance valuations, loans to exhibitions. It is this body of records that makes a sale, a loan or the settlement of an estate simpler.

Up-to-date values

The value of the works is updated through periodic appraisals, so that the asset inventory and insurance cover reflect the current market.

Who I work for

I work for private collectors, families and companies that own works of art, and for family offices that look after their assets. Even when the collection is divided between several homes in Italy and abroad, or partly kept in storage, the inventory provides a clear and orderly overview of the whole.