How ArtPro Separates Real Art From The Fake

Did you know that 30% of all fine artworks sold are estimated to be fake? Imagine that. 1 in every three artworks a forgery, a phoney, an illusion. A misdirection with no more substance than a flash of light and a puff of smoke. If you ask anyone who has ever been caught out by art fraudsters, they’ll confirm the experience is anything but magic. In almost any other area of life or business nobody would be expected to tolerate this, so the question arises, why should the artworld be any different?

Quite simply, it shouldn’t. According to a 2017 report from Deloitte, art professionals overwhelmingly agreed that “authenticity, lack of provenance, forgery, and attribution [are] the greatest threat to the reputation of the art market”. Phonies and fakes are the giant elephants in the room, and no amount of hand-waving can make it disappear. A solution which addresses this issue is urgently required to restore faith in the art market and to drive future growth.

ArtPro’s Provenance Solution

ArtPro is a peer-to-peer marketplace connecting the buyers and sellers of art, fortified by a verification system which ensures the legitimacy of the artwork on sale. The Pro in ArtPro stands for provenance, referring to the ‘chain of title’. To explain this term for a non-art audience, this is the record of documentation which supports the origins, ownership and authenticity of any piece of artwork. Since the blockchain is an immutable, unchangeable ledger, it lends itself perfectly to store this kind of information, ensuring prospective buyers that the chain and record have not been altered. It is imperative, therefore, that the information which finds its way onto the blockchain ledger is accurate in the first place.

For this to happen, three things must be confirmed: the identity of the seller, the authenticity of the piece, and that the piece in question is the same as the one recorded on the blockchain. So let’s look at how ArtPro can achieve these three things.

The identity of the owner/seller

To ensure the person selling the piece is exactly who they say they are and the rightful owner, ArtPro has partnered with Shufti Pro, a company which specialises in near instant digital identity verification. Utilising a hybrid human/AI technology process, Shufti Pro is capable of verifying a person’s identity efficiently and swiftly, with a 99.6% accuracy rate.

The authenticity of the piece

“Art & Finance report 2017 — Deloitte.” https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/at/Documents/finance/art-and-finance-report-2017.pdf. Accessed 26 Oct. 2018.

ArtPro is creating an index of vetted experts to operate in the role of authenticators. As seasoned experts in the field of fine art, they will ensure the authenticity of each piece. All authenticators will also need to complete the same identity verification checks as owners and sellers.

The piece on sale is the same as recorded on the blockchain

For pieces holding a value of $50,000+, there will be necessary re-authentication by vetted ArtPro experts conducted at the point of sale. For pieces under $50,000, a technological solution utilising high-resolution photography, digital pattern recognition software and RFID tagging will be employed as standard, with expert re-authentication experts available as an optional extra. This will make it incredibly difficult for fraudsters to pass off any forgery as the work listed on the record.

As you can see, ArtPro has a robust system in place that will ensure the quality of information held on the ArtPro blockchain is to the highest standards.

The Real Deal

With this system, ArtPro will maintain a much-needed belief and assurance in the art market and will use that as the foundation on which to build and grow the market itself. However, the ArtPro project is much more than a simple seal of authenticity. ArtPro is a peer-to-peer market where the buyers and sellers of art can connect, a home for artists which nurtures fresh talent, and a smartphone app that uses Augmented Reality (AR) allowing buyers to instantly view prospective purchases in any space of their choosing.

If you are a buyer of art, a collector, or an artist, ArtPro is designed for you. Now there is a thoroughly modern solution to some of the age-old problems that have dogged the art world for far too long. ArtPro is a tool, platform and service provider which aims to put the magic back into the artworld — minus any trickery.

For more information visit https://art-pro.io/

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