How to document an art collection using the Object ID standard
Museums, police and insurers needed a common way to describe a stolen object. The result was Object ID, an international documentation standard promoted by ICOM, the International Council of Museums. It is equally useful for a private collection of any size.
The Object ID fields
ICOM’s checklist asks you to take photographs and then record:
- Type of object
- Materials and techniques
- Measurements
- Inscriptions and markings
- Distinguishing features
- Title
- Subject
- Date or period
- Maker
and to write a short description adding anything else that would help identify the piece. Keep the record in a secure place.
Photographing art
Chubb’s home-inventory guidance suggests photographing artworks from several angles, to avoid glare from head-on shots, and recording the artist’s signature, medium, title, date and edition number where applicable. Photograph the back of each work too: labels, stamps, stretcher marks and inscriptions are often overlooked and can be among the most identifying details.
Beyond identification: provenance and condition
- Provenance: invoices, gallery and auction records, exhibition and publication history, and prior owners where known.
- Condition: a dated condition note and any conservation reports.
- Certificates: artist or foundation certificates and catalogue raisonné references.
- Location and handling: where each work hangs or is stored, and who moves it.
Chubb’s advice to emerging collectors recommends asking for a condition report and provenance before you buy, and its guidance on protecting an art collection recommends keeping an updated inventory with copies stored in different locations. Hylant’s guidance on emergency preparedness for art collections recommends an up-to-date inventory and a prioritized evacuation list.
If something is lost
The Art Loss Register maintains a database of stolen and missing art and offers searches. A complete Object ID record is exactly what a registry, the police or an adjuster will ask for.
Valuation is a separate step
Object ID identifies; it does not value. For insurance scheduling or estate purposes, a qualified appraiser determines value. A complete record shortens that work.
If you would rather not assemble this yourself
Collection Dossier prepares this file for you from the photographs and paperwork you already hold: a schedule of items, an individual record for each piece, a documentation audit noting what is missing, cited market references, and a spreadsheet copy for your agent, with full provenance timelines from the Signature tier. Fixed fees, never a percentage of value.
Commission a dossier View a sample dossier
Sources
- ICOM, Object ID standard
- ICOM, Object ID checklist (PDF)
- Chubb, “How to create a home inventory”
- Chubb, “5 steps to protecting your art collection”
- Chubb, “Nine tips for the emerging art collector”
- Hylant, “Emergency preparedness for personal art collections”
- Art Loss Register, Search
- Chubb, “The New Era of Luxury Collecting and Investment” (survey report, 2026)