What is a certificate of authenticity
WHAT IS A CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY?
A certificate of authenticity is a document required to assign a painting, sculpture or photograph to an artist. It may include the title of the work, the date of its creation, the name of the artist and various elements specific to the artistic discipline (support, dimensions, number of copies made, materials, photo of the work, etc.).
The certificate of authenticity is required to establish that a work is authentic and has been created by the artist who sells it. The certificate of authenticity must contain several mandatory entries to be valid. You must provide a certificate of authenticity to the buyer (even if he does not claim it) along with the invoice for the sale of your work.
The value of a certificate of authenticity?
The value of a certificate of authenticity comes from the notoriety of the person who writes it, when the latter is recognized by all professionals at the time of writing the certificate as the most competent for this subject or for this artist.
Who can write a certificate of authenticity?
Since the profession of art object expert is not regulated, all artists and professionals can write a certificate of authenticity.
Artcertificate considers that the author of the work is the most competent person to establish a certificate of authenticity especially during the first sale, the gallery or a professional can also contribute to this operation. It is nevertheless necessary to respect certain criteria when issuing a certificate of authenticity in order to give it an optimal value of authenticity.
It is strongly recommended to register the certificates of authenticity with a trusted third party in order to ensure their validity, traceability and protect the work against any dispute or fraud.
What does a certificate of authenticity contain?
A certificate of authenticity must contain the following information:
the name of the artist
the title of the work
the technique and materials used
the support of the work
the dimensions
the year or time of implementation
whether or not a signature exists, and if so where it is located
the date of issue and a signature
Who can issue a certificate of authenticity?
Several people are likely to issue a certificate of authenticity for a work of art.
In the first place, the artist who can himself draw such a certificate on the occasion of the sale of one of his works.
But other people may also be required to draw up a certificate of authenticity: this could be a member of the family of the artist holding the moral right and in charge of ensuring respect for the work. It may also be the person responsible for drawing up the catalogue raisonné of the artist’s work, since the latter is generally regarded as a specialist of the artist.
Finally, it can also be a recognized expert of the work of this artist.
The legal value of a certificate of authenticity
The certificate of authenticity is not subject to any regulation and no law confers on it any special value.
In practice, the legal value of the certificate is based primarily on the quality and credibility of its author. Thus a certificate issued by the artist himself or by the person responsible for drawing up his catalogue raisonné of the work will have a much higher value than a certificate issued by a simple art expert.
In all cases, the person who issues a certificate of authenticity is liable in case of dispute.