OBJECT ID

INFORMATION ON HOW TO CATALOGOUE YOUR COLLECTION.

The illicit trade in cultural objects is now widely recognized as one of the most prevalent categories of international crime. Documentation is crucial for the protection of art and antiques, for police officers can rarely recover and return objects that have not been photographed and adequately described. 

Object ID is an international standard for describing cultural objects. It is the result of years of research in collaboration with the museum community, international police and customs agencies, the art trade, insurance industry and valuers of art and antiques. 

Object ID project was initiated by the J. Paul Getty Trust in 1993 and the standard was launched in 1997. It is being promoted by major law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, Scotland Yard and Interpol, UNESCO, museums, cultural heritage organisations, art trade and art appraisal organisations and insurance companies, such as AXA ART Insurance. 

The contents of the standard were identified by a combination of background research, interviews, and, most importantly, by major international surveys. In total, over 1,000 responses were received from organisations in 84 countries. 

TAKE PHOTOGRAPHS

Photographs are of vital importance in identifying and recovering stolen objects. In addition to overall views, take close-ups of inscriptions, markings and any damage or repairs. If possible, include a scale or object of known size in the image.

OBJECT ID – CHECKLIST

Type of Object	What kind of object is it (e.g. painting, sculpture, clock, mask)?
Materials & Techniques	What materials is the object made of (e.g. brass, wood, oil on canvas)? How was it made (e.g. carved, cast, etched)?
Measurements	What is the size and/or weight of the object? Specify which unit of measurement is being used (e.g. cm., in.) and to which dimension the measurement refers (e.g. height, width, depth).
Inscriptions & Markings	Are there any identifying markings, numbers, or inscriptions on the object (e.g. a signature, dedication, title, maker’s marks, purity marks, property marks)?
Distinguishing Features	Are there any identifying markings, numbers, or inscriptions on the object (e.g. a signature, dedication, title, maker’s marks, purity marks, property marks)?
Title	Does the object have a title by which it is known and might be identified?
Subject	What is pictured or represented (e.g. landscape, battle, woman holding child)?
Date or Period	When was the object made (e.g. 1893, early 17th century, Late Bronze Age)?
Maker	Do you know who made the object? This may be the name of a known individual (e.g. Thomas Tompion), a company (e.g. Tiffany), or a cultural group (e.g. Hopi).

WRITE A SHORT DESCRIPTION

This can also include any additional information which helps to identify the object (e.g. colour and shape of the object, where it was made).

KEEP IT SECURE

Having documented the object, keep this information in a secure place.

http://www.axa-art.co.uk/artprotect/advice-section/object-id.html

Protecting Your Jewellery

Protecting Your Jewellery

THEFT

Every year, more than $1 billion of jewellery disappears in North America. In fact, police estimate that jewellery accounts for as much as 70 percent of all stolen property.

Thieves are always looking for easy opportunities, so any steps you can take to make theft of your jewellery more difficult will be worthwhile. Finding a great hiding spot for your precious jewellery items whether you are at home or traveling is an important part of protecting them from theft and burglary.

Here are a few DO’s and DON’Ts to follow when it comes to keeping your jewellery safe.

DO

• Consider purchasing a "false-bottom container" to protect your precious jewellery items. Remember to keep these containers in realistic places in your house, and make sure they are not mistakenly thrown away if they appear to be empty. 
• Consider installing a secure home safe. A safe that can be permanently mounted in your home, in concrete, provides better protection than a small movable safe and can be hooked to alarm system. 
• Always use a hotel or ship safe or security vault for your expensive jewellery items.
• Carry expensive items with you on board planes, ships or trains. Do not put them in checked luggage.
• Do place jewellery that you don’t wear often in a bank vault. The insurance savings can be substantial.

DON’T

• Keep precious jewellery items in your bedroom. Master bedrooms are always the first place burglars go after breaking in to a home.
• Keep your most expensive jewellery items in a jewellery box. Once in the bedroom, it’s the first place they look. Keep only inexpensive and costume jewellery items there.
• Never pack jewellery in your luggage.
• Wear or carry valuables at the pool or on the beach.
• Avoid using pockets in your clothes to hide your rings.

STORAGE

• Diamonds in particular can scratch other gemstones, metal and pearls, and even other diamonds if stored without adequate protection. Diamonds and all gemstones should be stored separately from other jewellery, preferably in individual, soft clean pouches.
• Each ring should be stored separately.
• Cultured pearls are soft and require special attention. They should be stored in a special chamois or velvet pouch and cleaned and dried prior to storage. 

WEARING YOUR JEWELLERY

 Remove rings before routine household chores.

• Activity such as gardening, working with tools or playing sports may damage a gemstone. Gemstones that receivea sharp blow are susceptible to chipping or cracking.
• Jewellery should be put on after applying make-up and hair spray. Cultured pearls are particularly vulnerable to chemical damage, including the oils and salts from your skin. They should be wiped with a soft chamois or flannel cloth after each wearing.
• Some coloured gemstones fade when worn in intense sunlight or in a tanning spa – best to remove them first.
• While advertisements promote waterproof watches, few are more than water-resistant, so avoid submersing your watch in water for extended periods.

CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE

• Routine care of your jewels with mild soap and water solutions and a soft brush provides the best care for most of your jewellery.
• Ultrasonic cleaners can be used effectively on most gold pieces, jewellery without gemstones and on some diamond-set jewellery. They should not be used with amber, coral, emerald, kunzite, lapis lazuli, opal, pearl, ruby or turquoise.
• Soap and water is NOT the recommended process for amber, coral, emerald, jade, kunzite, lapis lazuli, opal or turquoise.
• Gemstone rings should be inspected and cleaned at least once a year by a professional.
• Other fine jewellery should be inspected and cleaned by a professional once a year – stone condition is assessed, prongs and clasps are routinely checked, and repair requirements determined.

http://www.chubb.com/international/canada/cpi/chubb4349.html

Protecting Your Wine Collection

Protecting Your Wine Collection

It can take a lifetime to build a collection of fine wines. For some collectors, the years of searching the world's wineries for the finest vintages is not simply a hobby, it is a passion

Beyond insuring your investment, serious wine collectors understand the need to protect their collections from the harmful effects of light and vibration, and shifts in humidity and temperature.

So whether you already have a cool, low humidity basement, choose to build a cellar, invest in a self-contained temperature-controlled unit or rent storage space for your collection, here are a few things to keep in mind.

Temperature

• Not everyone agrees on this but maintaining a fairly constant temperature around 55F is a safe bet
• Minor fluctuations in temperature will not have an effect
• Prolonged, dramatic changes in temperature are undesirable – above 70F – may damage the wine's freshness and subtleties and rob it of its fruitiness and flavor; lower than 45F may cause the wine to freeze, expand and push out the bottle's cork.

Humidity

• Less than 80% with a low of 60% is best
• High humidity will promote development of mold. Mold may cause damage to labels, possibly reducing their market value. Mold confined to the cork/lip area should not impact the wine quality.
• Low humidity will result in dry corks and air seepage that will damage the wine; severe dryness may cause the empty space in the neck of the bottle to increase (ullage)

Light

• Low light conditions are preferred; dark is best
• Some collectors are concerned about the effects of fluorescent light, but there is no evidence to indicate that this is an issue.

Vibration

• Storage area should be vibration free to prevent sediment from being disturbed.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  http://www.chubb.com/international/canada/cpi/chubb4355.html

Dr. Ulrich Guntram, keeping tabs on the risks vs. rewards of art

With investors turning to art as a place to park their money hoping for high returns, behind-the-scenes, one corporate CEO is keeping tabs on the risks vs. rewards of art as an asset and what it takes to keep the formula from falling apart.

AXA ART RESEARCH GRANT

AXA ART RESEARCH GRANT - AXA ART = As part of our contribution to the preservation of cultural heritage, we support research in conservation through the framework of the AXA ART Research Grant. This grant is awarded for scientific studies that promise long-term contributions to preserving cultural assets.

The AXA ART Conservation Research Project in conjunction with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and the Museum of Modern Art was the forerunner of the global AXA ART Research Grant. The initial global grant was made to the Vitra Museum in Germany and focused on the study of the material qualities and life expectancy of design objects made of plastic. The second project, The Tate AXA ART Modern Paints Project in co-operation with Tate London focused on the material qualities and aging of acrylic paints.

In 2006, the AXA ART Research Grant was awarded first prize by the German federal association for industry for its commitment to culture. In 2010, TAAMPP was awarded the Anna Plowden Trust Award for Research and Innovation in Conservation.

http://www.axa-art.co.uk/artprotect/axa-art-research-grant.html

Was The Dutch Art Theft More 'Ocean's Eleven,' 'Home Alone,' Or 'Thomas Crowne Affair'?he Dutch Art Theft More 'Ocean's Eleven,' 'Home Alone,' Or 'Thomas Crowne Affair'?

F

FOLLOW : Kunsthal Art Gallery, Art Crime, Dutch Art Heist, Dutch Art Theft, Dutch Art Theft Movie,Kunsthal Art Heist, Kunsthal Art Theft, Netherlands Art Heist, Netherlands Art Theft, Rotterdam Art Heist,Rotterdam Art Theft, Arts News

If you're vaguely aware that one of the most dramatic art heists in the history of ever just occurred in the Netherlands, but don't know the details, sit right down. Grab some popcorn, and turn off your cell phone, because we're about to play you a movie with words. Where it fits in the vast pantheon of caper movies, we don't yet know. But this, at least, is a mystery we don't need Politei to solve.

In the early hours of Tuesday morning, one or more persons strategically looted Rotterdam's Kunsthal Museum of seven of its priciest works, on display in the "Avant Gardes" exhibit: paintings by Picasso, Matisse, Gaugin, Freud, two by Monet, and a self-portrait by the "minor Dutch artist" Meyer de Haan.

In movie thief terms, this lands us somewhere between the "Ocean's Elevens" crew and Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci in "Home Alone" -- brazen, but prone to goof-ups.Jonathan Jones at The Guardian asserts that the goof in question -- stealing the de Haan -- clinches this as no "Thomas Crown Affair," writing Tuesday that the inclusion of the self-portrait undermines "any idea that a tasteful collector commissioned this theft."

In a statement to the press, Kunsthale director Emily Ansenk said the police arrived five minutes after the alarm sounded (a museum representative refused to comment beyond the statement to the Huffington Post, until the investigation is closed).

This kind of harried, late arrival by the law brings us into "How To Steal A Million" territory (though we're actually talking a hundred million), with "Pink Panther" thrown in. Clearly our thieves have fantastic bone structure and are in love with each other. Also, the museum's security system -- which Ansenk defended in a news conference as "state of the art" -- involves no human guards, meaning the culprits bamboozled technology. Who else is imagining a shimmy under some laser beams right now?

As for what our sinister, only slightly clumsy thieves are doing this moment, it's unlikely they're selling their spoils, which Interpol has red-flagged by way of its stolen art registry. Predictions for their next move include: holding the works for ransom (an art-themed "Taken"?), or delivering it to a collector (with poor taste...that de Haan!).

We'd like to suggest a third option: toasting architectural superstar Rem Koolhaas, who designed the Kunsthale, apparently in a way thieves would appreciate. "As a gallery it is a gem," museum security expert Ton Cremers told the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant. "But it is an awful building to have to protect. If you hold your face up to the window at the back you have a good view of the paintings, which makes it all too easy for thieves to plot taking them from the walls."

A desperate face pressed against glass, peering in at the goods? There is suddenly something very "Les Miserables" in the air, non?

In an interview with CBS on Wednesday, Chris Marinello, director of the Art Loss Register, an organization that tracks hot art works, put in his two cents: "The police will be looking at friends and relatives of various museum personnel, looking into their backgrounds to see if they can find some kind of a connection. It just went too smoothly, this theft."

An inside job, eh. Here's hoping those Kunsthal employees love their treasure as must as Christopher Walken loved his, in "The Maiden Heist," a movie we just found out about through Google.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/17/dutch-art-theft_n_1974793.html#slide=1653712

FAMOUS PAINTINGS STOLEN IN DUTCH HEIST

Thieves broke into a Rotterdam museum in the Netherlands and walked off with works from the likes of Picasso, Monet, Gauguin and Matisse potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Seven masterpieces, including paintings by Picasso, Matisse, Monet and Gauguin, were stolen from a Dutch museum in a pre-dawn heist Tuesday, police said, with an expert adding the haul could be worth up to 200 million euro ($260 million).

Alerted by an alarm but arriving at the museum in Rotterdam after the thief or thieves had fled, police said they had launched a major investigation that includes interviewing possible witnesses and examining closed-circuit television.

"On Tuesday morning seven artworks were stolen from the Kunsthal in Rotterdam," police said in a statement, adding the burglary took place about 3.00am local time.

Gone ... the empty space where Henri Matisse's painting "La Liseuse en Blanc et Jaune" was hanging. Photo: AP

The art theft is the biggest in the Netherlands in more than 20 years.

Advertisement

Museum director Emily Ansenk, who flew back to Rotterdam after hearing of the theft during a visit to Turkey, told a press conference that what had happened was "a nightmare for any museum".

The stolen paintings were "unique works that are known around the world", she said.

They are Pablo Picasso's "Tete d'Arlequin", Henri Matisse's "La Liseuse en Blanc et Jaune", Claude Monet's "Waterloo Bridge, London" and "Charing Cross Bridge, London", Paul Gauguin's "Femme Devant une Fenetre Ouverte, dite La Fiancee", Meyer de Haan's "Autoportrait" and Lucian Freud's "Woman with Eyes Closed".

After having initially declined to name the stolen paintings, the police said that after consulting with the owners, they can now release photographs of the works.

The chairman of the museum's board, Willem van Hassel, told journalists that "technical security had been chosen deliberately which meant that nobody was at the museum but there was video".

He declined to discuss the value of the stolen works, but an expert at the Cornette de Saint-Cyr auction house in Paris who requested anonymity said the paintings were worth "between 150 and 200 million euro".

"A major investigation is under way and forensics are at the scene," Rotterdam police spokeswoman Patricia Wessels said. "We're investigating how they got access, what time it happened and who did it."

Dutch state television showed a police forensic team dusting one of the Kunsthal's outer doors for fingerprints.

The NOS broadcaster said the haul was worth "millions and millions of euros", but the paintings are so famous that it will be difficult to get anything like their real value on the black market.

It is the biggest art theft in The Netherlands since 20 paintings were stolen from Amsterdam's Van Gogh museum in 1991.

"We're a bit shocked that something like this happens here and at the same time we have some respect for thieves who got away with something likes this," said student Ibo Bose, disappointed not to be able to visit the museum.

"Police are interviewing possible witnesses and examining closed-circuit video footage," the police statement said. "An initial investigation suggests that the robbery was well prepared."

The police spokeswoman said that police were alerted during the night when an alarm went off but the thief or thieves had made off by the time police arrived.

Museum director Ansenk said police arrived just five minutes after the alarm went off in Rotterdam's museum park where few people go at night.

The works were among the 150-strong Triton Foundation's collection, which was being shown in its entirety to the public for the first time to mark the museum's 20th anniversary, the Kunsthal's website said.

The collection "has developed into one with an international reputation and which comprises representative works by the most important and influential artists of the late 19th century to the present day", it said.

The exhibition "comprises works from almost every significant art movement", it added.

The Kunsthal, which means "art hall", has no permanent collection of its own. It will reopen on Wednesday, the museum said.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/predawn-heist-seven-masterpieces-worth-about-260-million-stolen-20121017-27ptt.html#ixzz29Y7guaOt