Case Studies
A selection of recent instructions, from historic houses and museums to private collections in the UK and abroad. Details are kept confidential, and we do not name our clients.
A Historic Country House
A historic country house, open to the public, came to us for an insurance valuation of its contents. We valued around 300 items: Old Master paintings, antique furniture, ceramics, silver, textiles, and books and manuscripts. Our specialists worked through the house room by room, around visitors and staff, and delivered a single report the house and its insurers could rely on.
A Major Museum Collection
A major UK museum asked us to value its permanent collection for insurance and as part of a collection audit. The collection is over 1,000 objects, covering modern art, antiquities, tribal and ethnographic art, modern ceramics and modern design. We brought together more than a dozen specialists and drew their work into one consistent report. Provenance was reviewed against the UNESCO 1970 and UNIDROIT 1995 conventions, and we continue to value works as they go out on loan.
A Museum Collection in the Middle East
Working alongside a conservation firm on a wider museum project, we valued a major museum collection in the Middle East for insurance. Our specialists inspected the collection on site and prepared a full schedule of insurance values.
A Collection of Modern Art in Los Angeles
A private collector in Los Angeles asked us to value a collection of around 100 works for insurance, mainly modern American art with some important European pieces. We travelled to Los Angeles to inspect every work in person, researched each one against recent sales in New York, London and Paris, and delivered one report valuing the whole collection on the same basis.
An Important Jewellery Collection
A private client asked us to value a collection of around 400 pieces of jewellery and advise on selling it. We grouped the pieces by maker, period and market, and recommended the right sales for each group, held across the saleroom’s international locations including Switzerland. The collection sold for over £2 million. Throughout, we acted independently, with no ties to any auction house.
Loss in Value After Vandalism
A highly important painting in a British museum was damaged by vandalism, and we were instructed to assess its loss in value. Working alongside loss adjusters, conservators and lawyers, we prepared a forensic report on the effect of the damage on the painting’s value.
To discuss a collection in confidence, please contact Robert Coram James on 020 7305 7360 or at info@coramjames.com.
