Michelle,

I think that this situation can be mitigated by clear and consistent
communcation. When I was with Colonial Williamsburg I accumulated a
zillion hours of public contact experience, and much of it invovled
just these kinds of queries.

I think in the initial conversation you can pretty well tell where
someone is coming from. I always ask people to tell me about their
object, where they got it, why they like it, what they think it is,
and that sort of dialogue will quickly tell you if this is just a
person who loves this object and wants to learn more, or is a more
aggressive sort who wants to use your institution's name to add value
to their aquisition.

You explain that you and your instituion do not "authenticate" - if
they want a formal appraisal then they should get an independant
professional appraiser to examine the object and to produce a report.

You are happy to look at their object and to offer your impressions
but they will not be written into a report or on the institution's
letterhead.

As a conservator I do not authenticate (authentication as well as
appraising and acting as a dealer are against our professional
guidelines for ethics). I will however tell you whether the materials
and the workmanship are consistent with the given attribution as well
as telling you where there is damage and repairs. If I suspect that
the object in whole is a fake or reproduction then I will strongly
suggest that the owner pursue a professional appraisal. I will not use
those terms (as the word "fake" is a real hot button) but I will say
that there are serious questions that I see (and I will be specific
with those) and that someone with more expertise should pursue those -
and perhaps sophisticated laboratory testing may be necessary.

I also think that it is a good procedure to document any such object
you look at with notes and photography - so if there is any future
question about your opinion that you have supporting evidence.

In such cases of an object being misrepresented the people most liable
are the dealers who sold it and represented it as such, and not the
nearby museum curator who was asked about it.

It is up to the instituion  and especially you, to control the
response to such queries where it is crystal clear that you will never
offer "stamps of approval" but are interested and willing to help them
learn more about their objects and to explain how museum professionals
work.

And you can always direct them to que up for the "Antiques Roadshow" -
good luck suing them!

Cheers!
Dave

David Harvey
Conservator
Los Angeles, California

On 7/6/07, Michelle Gallagher Roberts <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Here's another angle to look at in this situation - Someone brings you an
> item. They "know" it is extremely valuable. They want the museum (you) to
> put your seal of approval on this thing and tell them it's real. They are
> not even asking for a value but an authentication. After due diligence and
> thoughtful research, you come to the conclusion the item is not real, a
> fake, a reproduction, etc. You write them a very nice and apologetic letter
> telling them this. The owner is very unhappy. Their very "expensive" item is
> now worthless. You have just cost them a lot of money - at least in their
> minds. They sue you and the museum. They probably will lose but both you and
> the museum will have spent a great deal of money defending yourselves.
> Unfortunately, the US is a very litigious country and everyone needs to be
> careful when dealing with authentications. Perhaps this is more common in
> art museums but every art museum I've worked at has a policy which forbids
> authentications because of the above risk.
>
> I know a curator who has gone through the above scenario so it is not out of
> the realm of possibility.
>
> -Michelle
>
> Michelle Gallagher Roberts
> Chief Registrar
> New Mexico Museum of Art
> (formerly Museum of Fine Arts)
> 107 West Palace Avenue
> Santa Fe, NM 87501
> 505-476-5066 phone
> 505-476-5076 fax
> [log in to unmask]
>
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