Archival Principle or Concepts

What is an archive?
In simple terms, and archive is an organization that acquires, maintains, preserves, and provides access to
documentary records that have continuing value. These records can be of many different types, such as text
documents, photographs, audio or video recordings, etc. They can also be either digital or analog.

There are many kinds of archives, with different missions and collection scopes. Some examples are national
archives, institutional archives, and community archives. The records maintained by an archive will be in
accordance to its scope and purpose, as well as the interests and information needs of its community of users.

Purpose of archives
Archives exist because it is understood that certain documents merit preservation because of their enduring
value as sources of information or evidence. The specific nature of this value can vary from one context to the
next. For example, some documents may have value for purely historical reasons, while others may derive
their value from being inextricably linked to the business processes of an organization. Therefore, what is
considered worthy of preservation will depend on the priorities and interests of the community that the
archive serves.
Archives and the records they contain can serve a variety of extremely important purposes, such as examining
and interpreting historical events or processes, developing and supporting historical narratives, constructing
meaning, shaping the identity of communities, recounting human experiences, and preserving crucial records
for posterity.

Major archival concepts

Provenance
Provenance refers to the source of archival documents, who created or owned them prior to their arrival at
the archive. The principle of provenance states that documents that come from a particular source (person,
company, group, etc.) should be kept together. For example, if an individual's personal papers are donated to
an archival institution, these papers must remain together and not become dissociated from each other. This
is crucial for protecting the integrity and the authenticity of the group of documents. It is important that the
provenance of all items be recorded.
Original order
This concept refers to the arrangement of items. When an archive receives a collection of documents, the
organization and order established by the creator or owner of the records should be maintained. As with
provenance, the concept of original order is important in terms of maintaining the integrity and evidentiary
value of archival material, as the order in which documents are arranged can add context and offer insight into
how the documents were created and used.
Authenticity
The concept of authenticity means that a thing is what it is said to be. For example, if a photograph in an
online repository is labeled "UPRM Art Exposition 2021", it is authentic if it in fact shows an image of that
specific event held on that particular year. Authenticity is especially important for records that have significant
evidentiary value. Archives must protect the authenticity of their documents, as this is essential for their
trustworthiness. One way to do this is by properly recording information related to items' provenance and
custodial history.
Appraisal
Appraisal refers to the evaluation of material for purposes of acquisition or retention by the archive or to
establish priorities for preservation. Several factors can come into play when appraising material, including the
priorities and interests of the researcher community, the historical value or rarity of documents, or the
importance certain records may have as evidence.

Fixity
Fixity refers to documents retaining their content and structure without undergoing any alterations. This term
is used frequently in the context of digital documents and refers to digital files retaining their original bit-to-bit
integrity without undergoing changes. If the original content or structure of a document is altered, the
document is no longer "fixed". Protecting fixity is essential for the trustworthiness of archival material,
especially when the material has important evidentiary value.

What is Provenance?
Provenance essentially is the recorded journey of an artwork from its origin through one or more owners to the
present day. Art historians and curators use this information to provide more context for a work. An object's
story might include a famous collector or a period when it was part of a larger collection .

Why Provenance is Necessary?

Provenance helps museums ensure that the objects they are collecting meet legal and ethical rules. There are
three particularly critical categories of provenance museums must pay attention to: the whereabouts of
European artworks collected between 1933 and 1945, when the Nazi regime forced sales and looted thousands
of artworks from Jewish collections; archaeological artifacts collected before 1970, when the United Nations
passed accords to protect the world’s cultural heritage; and art taken from colonized regions in the nineteenth
and early twentieth centuries, when colonial powers looted or illegally removed works from those cultures and
locales.

How do we find the Provenance in Art?

Provenance research often depends on documents such as wills, archives, receipts, auction sales and dealers'
records. Ownership can be discovered by tracking down objects in exhibition or auction catalogues, memoirs of
the artist, archival records or manuscripts.
 This guide is broken into six paths of research and a bibliography.
Objects: Inscriptions or distinctive marks (coats of arms), as well as exhibition stickers, dealer marks or
stamps on the object can yield ownership information. An institution’s object files (curatorial and registrar’s)
will contain some information on past owners and sometimes a wealth of information about past exhibitions.

Artists: Published resources on the artist, particularly catalogues raisonnés and early exhibition catalogues,
can include a plethora of ownership information.

Collectors: Bibliographic and biographical information about collectors and published

catalogues of private collections can yield important provenance information.

Dealers: Dealer inventories or published dealer catalogues often are fruitful for provenance
researchers.

Auctions: Auction results and historical auction catalogues are becoming more prevalent
online making it easier for provenance research.

Archives: Archival information of all types-- for artists, collectors and dealers, can be vitally
important.

Bibliography: This bibliography highlights published works on general provenance research.

Each section above will include resources for specific topics.

Reference: https://guides.library.yale.edu/c.php?g=296149&p=1973820#:~:text=Provenance
%20research%20often%20depends%20on,artist%2C%20archival%20records%20or
%20manuscripts.
https://libguides.uprm.edu/archival-practice/fundamental-principles

How to get Certificate of Authenticity for an Art

Certificate of authenticity which may be issued by the National Artist himself, the executor or administrator of
the estate of the deceased National Artist, reputable art experts/critics, or by the National Museum pursuant to
Republic Act 9105 or the Art Forgery Act of 2001, whichever is applicable.

Video Link:

https://www.google.com/search?
q=how+to+get+certificate+of+authenticity+for+art+philippines&sca_esv=f73e6ca5e1446b75&ei=UHQ3ZufdCtStseMPm
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2l0eSBwYWludGluZyoCCAcyChAAGLADGNYEGEcyChAAGLADGNYEGEcyChAAGLADGNYEGEcyChAAGLADGNYEGEcyChAA
GLADGNYEGEcyChAAGLADGNYEGEcyChAAGLADGNYEGEcyChAAGLADGNYEGEcyDRAAGIAEGLADGEMYigUyDRAAGIAEGL
ADGEMYigVIxjVQAFgAcAF4AZABAJgBAKABAKoBALgBAcgBAJgCAaACBpgDAIgGAZAGCpIHATGgBwA&sclient=gws-wiz-
serp&zx=1714910349596&no_sw_cr=1&safe=active&ssui=on#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:06a0aa75,vid:hYOIjALLERY,st:0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYOIjALLERY

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