Certificate of authenticity – What it is and what it’s for
A certificate of authenticity is a document that often comes with an original or limited-edition artwork to confirm that the artwork has been created by the artist. Furthermore, it provides information about the artwork, for example which technique has been used to create it, when it has been produced or details about whether it’s a limited edition or an original piece. A certificate of authenticity is always bound to one single piece of artwork and of course never expires.
For you as a buyer a certificate of authenticity, or short COA adds additional value to a bought object, because it proves that the art is authentic. Because basically everybody could produce their own certificate of authenticity it’s important for you to know, which information are crucial to give your certificate an actual value. The following sections will explain the components of the certificates of authenticities, which will be send to you in addition to any purchased sunken fin or original surfboard fin.
Picture of the artwork
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Because the certificate of authenticity is only connected to one single piece of artwork, the certificate has to clearly identify this piece. If you ever get a certificate of authenticity without a picture of the artwork itself on it, it has no value.
Name of the artist
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All the surfboard fins are 100% handmade by me. When I get the drowned and recovered surfboard fins, I start to clean and grind them to prepare the surface for the base layer of spray paint. The base layer is often white or crème, so that the upcycled fin is like a fresh canvas to create beautiful art on it. In case of a table clock, I must also drill holes into the surfboard fin to make space to assemble the clock work later. Only then the creative process of creating unique pieces of artwork starts. You can take a look into my atelier and read about the whole process here.
Title of the work
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This is pretty much self-explanatory. I always feel like it’s tough to find titles for my artwork and I tend to give my art titles, which leave a lot of room for your own interpretation.
Unique ID number
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Especially within limited editions the artwork is manufactured a specific number of times, which makes it hard to identify the specific artwork only by a picture. Therefore, every sunken fin or originally hand painted surfboard fin has a unique ID number, which is written on the certificate of authenticity and on the artwork itself.
Edition or original
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An original piece, as the name already indicates, is not a reproduction or a copy of the artwork but the original itself. It´s only available once and there are no copies, which have the same value as the original piece. A limited edition on the other hand includes a certain number of versions created by the artist. Every piece of a limited edition has unique qualities and can vary slightly, because it´s made by hand and created individually from the artist. To make sure you actually purchased a limited edition and not an open edition (there are no limitations of the available copies) it’s important that the artwork comes with a certificate, a specific number to indicate the quantity and the artists signature on the certificate.
Year of completion
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Especially if you buy limited edition pieces, the year will be the current year because I paint them on demand and only have a few pieces in stock. Most often original pieces were produced in the past, sometimes even a couple of years ago, because I only manufacture a few pieces in a year and I often decide to sell them only after a while.
Dimensions
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This shows the dimensions specific to your artwork. If you buy a surfboard fin with a fin holder I add the dimensions of the fin holder to the dimensions of the fin itself.
Technique
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As you can imagine a lot of different techniques are used to produce an upcycled surfboard fin. Therefore, you will find the information Mixed Media Art as a technique description on the certificate of authenticity. Mixed Media Art refers in general to art that is made of a variety of media in one single artwork – for example using ink for outlines, then coloring it with markers and using spray-painting techniques for the background. The specific technique I am using changes often from motif to motif or even from fin to fin. Sometimes I also use real dried flowers or collage techniques, which makes the artwork even more unique in its own character.
Location of the recovered fin
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This information is specific to my kind of artwork, but I think it’s important to include this information on the certificate of authenticity, so that you know where your original sunken fin has been found.
Declaration of authenticity
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A short statement which declares that the person who signed the certificate of authenticity is honest and truthful about their declarations.
Embossed seal
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All of my certificates of authenticity are embossed with my logo to make it more secure against forgery. Certificates, which declare to be made from me and have no embossed seal on it are not issued by me and therefore not legitimate.
Date and signature
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Every certificate of authenticity is signed by the me (the artist) and includes the date of issue. Be aware if you ever get a certificate without the artist signature. There are only very few persons, who can sign a certificate of authenticity rightfully (like an art gallery or an art dealer).
Unique ID sticker
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As explained at point #4 is it extremely important to identify the artwork clearly, which is connected to the certificate. A certificate of authenticity includes an ID sticker on the certificate itself AND an identical ID sticker to put on the back of your artwork. This makes it also harder to fake the certificate.
Info: The ID numbers are also written on the artwork itself by me. For this I use a thin pencil to add the number under my signature. The second sticker is delivered unattached in your package. It’s up to you if you want to put in on the back of the surfboard fin, on the fin holder, or in case you want to frame your fin – on the back of the frame or paper. It might not be the most secure option that I don’t already attach it by myself to the artwork, but I want to give you the freedom to decide for yourself if and where you want to place the second sticker.
Why not use blockchain?
In our highly digitized world, it almost seems a bit weird to print a certificate simply on paper and sign it, when there is advanced and much more secure technology for that on the market. So why do I still use a traditional certificate of authenticity on paper? Because of the environment! The mining (creation) of a blockchain needs lot of energy and creates carbon emissions. I don´t want to dive deeper into the pro and cons of blockchain right now, but I would recommend it to spend some extra time to research this topic further, because there are many great opportunities to use blockchain in a sensible way.
But even though there are many great opportunities for blockchain technology and better energy-saving processes are already being developed, in my opinion art certificates are simply not important enough to justify this amount of energy consumption.
Beautifully crafted, sustainable papers
The thing I like most about analog art is the actual sensations of seeing, touching and sometimes even smelling different materials for real. For me as an artist, there is not such a thing as just paper. There are many small details I consider when choosing the right paper for a specific cause – like grammage (density of a paper), shades of color, brightness, paper finish (smooth, embossed, coated or uncoated…) and of course the production and ingredients of a paper.
Made from agro-industrial waste
More than 30% of the 120gms envelopes are made of recycled content and an additional 15% are even produced with agro-industrial waste products of grapes. The use of alternative resources is an important step in innovating the paper industry without lacking quality in the final products. The soft rosé color of the grape characterizes the appearance of the envelope, which has a matt and natural surface. In addition to the sustainable production the paper is also FSC certified.
100% recycled paper
The 250gms paper which is used to print the certificate of authenticity is a very elegant sustainable paper made of 100% recycled contents and with a FSC Recycled Credit. It has a warm white tone and includes visible natural fibres. If you look closely, you will understand the comparison of the manufacturer of the appearance of these inclusions to the play of snowflakes in the wind.