Appraisaland Authentication

Does the Museum appraise or authenticate objects?

In conformity with national and international museum standards, it is contrary to the practice of the ROM to offer financial appraisals or evaluations of objects to the general public, to give evaluations, assist in the disposal of private property or to express opinions regarding the merits of appraisal firms. The ROM accepts no legal or other responsibility for any opinion that may be expressed about an object presented to a curator for identification.  

Many resources exist online and we suggest that you contact a member of the Art Dealers Association of Canada (ADAC) or the Canadian Antique Dealers Association (CADA) to find an appropriate Art Gallery or Dealer,  Art Consultant, Auctioneer and/or Appraiser.

For information on the care of your objects or preserving your heritage, we suggest going to the Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) website. For general information, you can also contact the ROM's Library & Archives, who may be able to suggest publications and other resources.

Our curators engage in research both at and away from the Museum and may not be able to respond to your enquiries right away. Please note, that a response can take up to 4 to 6 weeks. The Department of World Cultures no longer provides the service of regular scheduled identification clinics, but the Natural History's Rock, Gem, Mineral, Fossil, and Meteorite section does provide ROM Identification Clinics on scheduled days.

You may search the Museum’s Online Collections for images and information related to some of the objects in the ROM's collections. If you cannot locate the object in ROM Images, please provide as much information on the specific object (e.g. artist/creator, name/title of the work, accession or Museum ID number, etc). If you are interested in photographs or images of the object, please direct your query to images@rom.on.ca.