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What is Object ID?
The Getty Information Institute, in 1993, initiated a collaborative programme to create an international documentation standard of the information required to identify cultural objects. Police forces, customs agencies, museums, the art trade, valuers and the insurance industry have all collaborated to develop the standard. The standard was launched in 1997 and has been promoted by major law enforcement agencies, including the F.B.I., Scotland Yard and Interpol.
Object ID helps to combat thefts of works of art by promoting the use of the standard and bring organisations around the world together that will encourage its adoption.
Since 1999, Object ID has found a home at the Council for the Prevention of Art Theft (CoPAT). CoPat participated in the project from its earliest stages and played a large part in the development of the standard.
Why is Object ID Needed?
The illicit trade in cultural objects is one of the most prevalent types of international crime. Other criminal activities are often funded by the profits from thefts, forgeries and smuggling of cultural objects. The objects themselves are both a medium of exchange and a method of laundering the profits of crime.
Documentation plays an important part in the protection of art and antiques as it can be almost impossible to recover and return objects that have not been photographed and described. Large numbers of objects are in police possession after being recovered that cannot be returned to their owners because there is insufficient documentation to prove ownership.
The Object ID Checklist:
- Take photographs
- These are of vital importance in identifying and recovering stolen objects. Close-ups of inscriptions, markings, damage and any repairs should be taken. Include a scale or object of a known size in the image.
Questions to answer:
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- Type of object-painting, sculpture etc.
- What the object is made of-brass, wood, oil on canvas etc.
- How was the object made-carved, cast etc.
- Size and weight, specifying the units of measurement.
- Any identifying markings, numbers, inscriptions-eg. a signature, dedication, title, maker's mark, purity marks, propety marks.
- Does the object have any physical characteristics that could help in identifying it-eg. damage, repairs, manufacturing defects.
- Does the object have a title by which it is known and might be identified- eg. 'The Scream'.
- What is depicted?-eg. landscape
- Date/perios of the piece
- Maker-a known individual, a company or a cultural style.
- Write a short description and keep it in a safe place.
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