Let’s talk about arts/ paintings/ sculptures and their legal ownership.

Some wealthy men are art collectors/ enthusiasts with priced art in their possession; this article is for them specifically. 

Due to the fact that art, paintings and sculptures from famous painters or sculptors are priced items with some of them being sold for millions of dollars, there’s always a likelihood that a copy or fake of some famous and expensive art is out there in the market with their dealers prancing on naive collectors to defraud.

How do you then make sure that you do not let yourself get defrauded in the art market by fraudster art dealers?

There is a legal document that is attached or associated with every art, painting or sculpture out there and it is called “provenance”.

Before you pay or even indicate an interest to purchase an artwork, ask the dealer to provide you with the art’s provenance, if the dealer cannot provide you with the provenance then that is a red flag; which can be interpreted that it is either the art although real was stolen or acquired through an illegal means or it is a copy or a fake art.

What then is Provenance?

Provenance is the ownership history of an artwork, from when it was first created by the painter or sculptor, indicating the date it was painted or sculpted and the details of the painter or sculptor indicating the first purchaser and other purchasers up until it got into the hand of the person who wants to sell it to you. Documented evidence of provenance for an artwork helps to establish that the art has not been altered and is not a forgery, a reproduction, stolen or looted art.

Some famous artworks date as far back as 1500. For instance, Leonardo Da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi which is one of the most famous and most expensive pieces of art currently in the world is believed to have been created around 1499-1510. This is to say that whoever dealer or collector wants to sell this prized piece of art must be in possession of the provenance dating as far back as 1500; indicating who was the first buyer or collector who bought this piece directly from Leonardo Da Vinci, and trace chronologically who and who have possessed the painting subsequently before it got to current collector’s museum or hand. Any collector or dealer who cannot present the provenance is either selling a fake copy of the artwork or stolen artwork. 

Provenance can as well be referred to as a chain of title in a more familiar legal term. The phrase, “chain of title” refers to the history of ownership of a piece of property, especially landed property, personal properties or other prized possession. Titles are normally registered and maintained with a centralized registry or authoritative body. The chain of title traces the historical transfer of ownership from the current owner back to the original owner or creator.
Keeping all these rigorous and accurate title records is important in order to establish ownership of a property or an asset especially when the property is a prized possession because once there is a hole or a break in the chain of title then it shows that you are not the legal owner of the property you are claiming or do not have the proper legal documents to establish you are the true legal owner of the property; you can as well be deemed to be a thief, a fraudster or an impostor.

The purpose of this piece is to protect our readers who are art collectors, dealers or enthusiasts. Once you are interested in buying an expensive piece of art or painting or even a sculpture, insist on the seller to provide you with the provenance or the chain of title of the work, that is the document that proves the seller has legal ownership over the artwork and therefore have the legal right to sell and can transfer the legal ownership of the art to you once you pay for it.