Questions collectors, estates and family offices ask.
Direct answers on independent advisory, valuation, provenance, and the acquisition of shipwreck collection objects.
Last updated: June 2026
What does an independent art advisor do — and how is that different from a gallery or auction house?
An independent art advisor works only for the client — a collector, an estate, a family office, an insurer — never for the trade. Galleries and auction houses earn from transactions, so their advice is tied to what they sell. An independent advisor charges for expertise — valuation, provenance, condition, acquisition strategy — and earns nothing from the outcome. Holmes Heritage Consulting holds no inventory, represents no sellers, and takes no commission.
How much does independent collection advisory cost in Switzerland?
Holmes Heritage Consulting charges a day rate or a fixed mandate agreed before work begins — never a percentage of a transaction. Scope, fee and timeline are set in writing after one conversation. The cost depends on the object and the question: a single valuation is a different engagement from a full collection review.
What is provenance research, and why does it matter before buying or inheriting art?
Provenance research establishes an object’s ownership history. It determines whether a work is authentic, whether it can legally be sold, and whether claims — theft, looting, wartime loss — could surface later. For buyers it protects the purchase; for estates it protects the heirs. Without it, a collection’s value is an assumption.
Is it legal to buy objects from historic shipwrecks?
It depends entirely on how the objects were recovered. Objects from documented, lawful recoveries with clear title and lawful export can be legally acquired and owned. Objects without that record cannot be safely acquired at any price. Holmes Heritage Consulting introduces collectors only to documented collections — recovery data, treatment history and publication references included — and declines where the record is incomplete.
How do I get an artwork independently appraised in Zürich?
Contact an advisor with no stake in the result. Holmes Heritage Consulting prepares independent expert valuations and condition reports to institutional standard, grounded in forensic examination — for insurance, estate division, donation or sale. One conversation defines the scope; the report follows in writing.
What should a family office do with an inherited art collection?
Three steps, in order: establish what exists (inventory and condition), establish what it is (valuation and provenance), then decide — keep, insure, donate or sell. Decisions made before documentation routinely destroy value. An independent advisor completes the record first, so every later decision stands on evidence.
How can I tell if an artwork is fake or forged?
Not by eye. Forgery detection is forensic: materials analysis, construction, condition history, and documentation cross-checked against the object itself. Frederick Van de Walle led SGS Art Services’ third-party forensic art inspection in the Chinese art market — examination is how forgeries are found, and it must come from someone with no interest in the sale.
Do you work with lawyers, estates and insurers?
Yes — regularly. Estate lawyers commission independent valuations for inheritance and division; insurers require documentation and condition reports they can rely on; both need an expert whose number is not influenced by a future sale. Reports are prepared to institutional standard and delivered in writing.
Which languages and regions do you cover?
Working languages are English, French, German and Dutch. Based in Zürich; engagements across Switzerland and Europe, with international work where the object requires it — the career behind the practice spans five continents.
How does an engagement begin?
With one conversation — by phone or through the enquiry page. You describe the object or the question; scope, fee and timeline are then set in writing. Day rate or fixed mandate, never commission. All conversations are confidential.
A question not answered here?
Ask it directly. All conversations are confidential.