Works of art are movable assets: they are moved, lent, subject to deterioration and at risk of going astray. Before even requesting a valuation, anyone managing a collection needs an inventory that answers four fundamental questions: what is owned, where it is, how it is kept and what documentation accompanies it. Each work receives a unique inventory number, recorded on its record and in the photograph; a copy of the inventory is kept in a place other than that of the collection.

The strategic functions of the inventory

  • Protection in the event of theft: a stolen work can be reported and recognised only if it has been described and photographed in a way that identifies it without ambiguity.
  • Establishing damage: in the event of damage during transport, storage or an exhibition loan, only a dated, photographed condition report, kept in the object file, makes it possible to demonstrate the condition before the loss and to distinguish recent damage from pre-existing defects.
  • Generational transfer and succession: those who inherit a collection often do not know its actual value and risk confusing its sentimental component with its commercial one. An analytical inventory prevents ill-advised sales and disputes between co-heirs, and, together with the appraiser's valuations prepared for that purpose, gives the notary the technical basis on which to set up the division.
  • Insurance policies, loans and sales: taking out insurance cover requires a precise statement of the works, their values and their locations. Likewise, a sale or a loan for an exhibition calls for complete records with provenance, bibliography and condition report. Every movement, transfer or pledge as security entails updating the inventory.

The distinction between the inventory and the appraisal

The inventory records and organises data, but it does not generate economic values. The determination of values falls exclusively to the appraiser, under a specific professional engagement conducted according to rigorous methodologies. Whoever keeps the inventory simply enters the values stated by the appraiser in the individual records and flags them when they have become out of date.

The service begins with the Collection Health Check: an initial survey to verify the actual extent of the holdings, identify gaps in the documentation and establish whether to draw up a new inventory or revise the existing one.