Today I will speak about the methods which can help you to buy genuine artworks. There are no foolproof methods other than double checking with the artist personally. But these points one should alway be consider before buying artwork:
1. Ask for catalogue raisonne: A catalogue raisonné is a comprehensive, annotated listing of all the known artworks by an artist either in a particular medium or all media. The works are described in such a way that they may be reliably identified by third parties. Some Indian artists have properly documented their artworks. One such artist was S H Raza. He use to document each and every detail of his artworks. In 2014, with the support and funding of the Raza Foundation and the Vadehra Art Gallery started compiling a catalogue raisonné. It is the first-ever catalogue raisonné to be complied of any Indian artist. The first volume is already it out.
2. Ask for Provenance: At any point in a work of art’s history, it’s authenticity can come into question. Often,art is accompanied by documentation, commonly known as provenance, that confirms its authenticity. Provenance is the chronology of the ownership, custody or location of a historical object. These documents can be considered as provenance:
*Receipt, Invoice, or Bill of Sale: These documents serve to confirm the date that an item previously changed owners, and the identity of the parties involved, such as a private owner, gallery, or auction house.
*Previous appraisal: an object may have been previously appraised, possibly as part of an estate or for insurance purposes. Because values fluctuate over time, a previous appraisal serves to document the age and ownership of an object, rather than the current value.
*Inclusion in auction catalog: if an item has been previously included in an auction, the sale result is usually available to the public.
*Illustration in an exhibition catalog from a museum or gallery: if item has been included in a museum or gallery exhibition, it will be mentioned and usually illustrated in a catalog published along with the exhibition.
*Inclusion in a publication like a biography of the artist: Example Book name ‘Krishen Khanna: Images in My Time’ on Artist Krishen Khanna
*Inventory number for museum/corporate collection: items held in museum or corporate collections are given inventory numbers, and these numbers accompany the work when it leaves the collection.
*Authentication: This can be a certification by auction house, gallery, reputed institute or artist. But beware this certificate can also be faked by forgers just the way they fake artworks.
Other techniques which can be used to identify if the artwork is genuine or not are carbon dating, ultraviolet (uv) radiation, x-rays and infra red reflectography.
Here are some details about artwork documentation of Indian artists:
Jehangir Sabavala use to keep all his work documented. His family is actively setting up the Jehangir Sabavala Foundation to keep his legacy alive. Gallerist Geetha Mehra says, “Sabavala himself was a big archivist. Every painting of his is traceable. He has complete records. Not only did he chronicle his own work, but he also made notes of all the things he liked, the exhibitions he saw. He has kept all the clippings, photographs, drawings, catalogues, sketches, everything. There is also a whole bunch of postcards collected from wherever he travelled’. Vivan Sundaram, nephew of Amrita Sher-Gil has also complied and published a double volume study on all her works, her letters and her life. For Raja Ravi Varma, his brother C. Raja Raja Varma maintained dairy for Raja Ravi Varma’s paintings. “The Diary of C. Raja Raja Varma” was published by Oxford University Press. It is considered as one of the most important and authentic source materials on the last ten years of the life of Raja Ravi Varma. There are also institutes like “Raja Ravi Varma Heritage Foundation”, which have catalogued his paintings.
Buyer should have proper knowledge about the artist and his career. For example, series which M F Husain painted keeping Madhuri Dixit in mind was also signed by the Madhuri. Forgers often ignore such details.
Also check out full report on Indian Art Market 2017 at https://arttactic.com/ , its quiet informative.
Take Care
Sonal #theartvue #Indian #modern&contemporary art
Sonal #theartvue #gksonal #Indianart #artenthusiast 