Provenance & authentication

For every piece we record where it came from, what is known of its ownership, its period and place of manufacture, its materials, and every restoration we are aware of.

Where a chain of ownership has a gap, we say so. An honest gap is more useful to a collector than a confident guess.

Each sale is accompanied by a written condition and provenance report signed by us. It states what we know, how we know it, and what remains uncertain.

We do not issue valuations for insurance or probate. That is separate work, properly done by an independent valuer with no interest in the sale.

If a piece is later shown to be materially other than we described it — wrong period, undisclosed restoration, misattributed maker — we take it back and refund it in full, without a time limit.

That commitment is why we are careful about what we write down.