“Having the wisdom not to confuse the painting with its value, there is no difficulty; one buys what he wants, what he likes and keeps it: if one day he no longer likes it, he puts the painting in the attic. But those who want to buy intelligently, that is, combining profit with pleasure, will find themselves faced with a truly difficult situation.”
Maurice Rheims
Are works of art a safe haven asset? A safe investment? Can we say that by buying art we make a good investment? Are we safe from speculation? In all honesty I feel I can answer without a shadow of a doubt: no! The formula for doing good business has not yet been found and to date there has only been one method that has proven fruitful: selfless love for art. Not speculators but only great amateurs have left a true and profound trace.
To protect buyers, the legislation of the Code of Cultural Heritage provides through art. 64 that anyone who carries out the activity of sale or exhibition for the purposes of trade or intermediation aimed at the sale of works of sculpture, graphics, paintings and antiquities has the obligation to deliver to the buyer the documentation certifying their authenticity or at least the probable attribution and provenance. It must be drafted as follows:
The use of the traceable payment instrument even for sums lower than what is established by law guarantees certain proof of the passage of the money and allows, in the event of disputes, to overcome any contrary exception.
Giving up the guarantee of your investment for a financial discount from the seller is an imprudence that in countless cases has proven to be very costly.
In the event that the sale of the goods takes place between private parties, a writing on plain paper would confer a title of guarantee on the buyer and must report:
When purchasing a work of art, one must not forget that UN member countries have signed up to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, CITES, therefore the trade of live and dead specimens, animals and plants, which are registered as species at risk of extinction and which are divided as follows:
The complete list is available on the website of the Carabinieri of the State Forestry Corps. The convention does not exclude that member states can implement even more restrictive control measures and bans.
It is mandatory to request the sales authorization certificate for all objects, made by anyone and in any time context, if they contain elements of the listed species. The CITES authorization is necessary both for sales on Italian soil and for export and is issued following an appraisal aimed at identifying the material and age of the object. This is followed by the request for a certificate of free movement from the Superintendency.
All movable and immovable things that present artistic, historical, archaeological, ethno-anthropological, archival and bibliographic interest and all other things identified by law as evidence of civilizational value are defined as Cultural Heritage and are subject to the protection provided for by the Cultural Heritage Code. If the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities has ordered their protection, the transfer of ownership takes place through the authorization of the Superintendence.
By paying attention to the above advice, the art lover is protected from the main risks but, regardless of the type and materials that characterize the object on which attention has been paid, I am available for preliminary confidential advice.
perizie@marcozaia.net
