"Maintaining the excellence
of art expertise
in a dematerialised world"
Michel Vanvincq President

Dear art lovers and art collectors,

The aggressive marketing of online platforms promises free valuations and appraisals of works of art and collectibles by "experts".

As a federation of professional art experts, it is our duty to help you understand these offers.

Here is what you need to know:

First of all you should know that the title of expert is not protected. Thus, anyone can use it. This is particularly damaging in the art market. In the event of an error, misidentification or assessment of the value of your property by a "consultant" or "expert" who is not recognised by a French national chamber, you will have no guarantee that you are dealing with a competent professional who may not be covered by civil liability insurance. Such insurance covers you in the event of insolvency. This is why our federation only recognises as experts those who belong to a national chamber and take out such insurance.

You should also be aware that promises to appraise your property on the basis of photographs are commercial advertisements. Because of the dematerialisation of exchanges, some people offer expert appraisals by electronic means, whereas a real expert appraisal must still be carried out by physically inspecting your work of art, i.e. the expert must actually have it in hand and in front of him. This requires the object or the person to come and meet. On the basis of this verification, the expert can identify the object, authenticate it and determine its financial value. For this reason, the expert is responsible.

Finally, you should know that a professional expert is always independent. This allows him to be impartial and to advise you in your best interests. An employee who presents himself as an "expert" or "specialist" must respect the orders of his hierarchy and make figures. There is then a conflict of interest and you rarely win. Having recourse to an expert approved by a national chamber is a guarantee of independence, a guarantee of ethics and impartiality.

Our federation has been in existence since 1987 and is active throughout France thanks to its network of experts selected and recognised by their peers for their reputation, their knowledge, their experience, their skills and their respect for our code of ethics.

If you wish to obtain a valuation of your work of art or your collection object, our federation will direct you to the most competent expert(s) who will receive you personally and in complete confidentiality.

They will examine your heritage item, painting, sculpture, furniture or object, to analyse, authenticate and evaluate it, in order to give you the most accurate value according to your needs: to carry out an inter vivos sharing, a donation, for an insurance value or a public sale.

This service always has a cost because the French expert, received by a national organization such as ours. You will thus be truly sure of his seriousness and professionalism.

In a world that is becoming more and more dematerialized, the requirement tends to disappear in favour of profit. At Fnepsa, we resolutely choose excellence in expertise and we put it at your service.