As an art appraiser I am often faced with the
challenge of trying to track down the history of a
piece.  It is important for appraisers to know who
owned the personal property for several reasons.  
1.) It could help the value.  If the item belonged to
someone famous or infamous it might be appealing to
other collectors thus increasing demand.
2.) Was the item stolen?  Appraisers often have to go
to great lengths to determine the provenance of a
piece.  While some pieces are listed with IFAR or are
involved in highly publicized robberies, others are
not as easily traceable. A strong provenance is always
helpful.
3.) The history of personal property is important for
exactly that reason.  History.  If your museum owned
the item that is part of the item's past and it may
even make the item more desirable.  It seems
irresponsible to erase part of that history for fear
of what the donors might think.  

Best,
Christian Trabue


		
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