Collection Inventory and Valuation Record
Itemise a collection properly, so that identification, acquisition and any valuation exist somewhere other than in your head.
CV-01 1 page
Collecting and valuables · CV-02
Item Provenance and Documentation Sheet
A free printable provenance sheet — ownership chain, documents held, restoration history and exhibition record, one page per item.
Download Free · no sign-up
2 pages. Choose your paper size — both versions are laid out identically, so neither one gets shrunk to fit.
Print it and write on it
Fill it in type and save
The fillable versions have real form fields — open them in any PDF reader, type into them and save. Printing help.
What this sheet is for
Record the history of a single item and where its paperwork lives, including the gaps, so the chain is not reconstructed from memory by somebody else later.
Who it is for
Collectors, dealers, small museums, and anyone who has inherited something with a story attached to it.
How to use it
- Fill in one sheet per item and keep it with the item's file, not with the item.
- Record what you can actually evidence, and mark the links you cannot.
- List where each document is kept — provenance you cannot produce is not provenance.
- Photograph before any restoration, and note the reference here.
What is on the sheet
2 pages, in this order:
Page 1
Printed under the title: One page per item, recording where it came from, what paperwork exists and what has been done to it — the history that is impossible to reconstruct once it is lost.
Note the gaps as well as the links. Provenance is a chain of ownership and paperwork. Record what you can actually evidence and say plainly where a link is missing — a gap you have noted is worth far more than one you have quietly papered over.
The item
Write-on lines: Item number · Description · Photo reference · Maker or artist · Year or period · Identifying marks
Ownership
Table, 4 rows: From · To · Owner · Evidence held · Where kept
Documents held
- Purchase receipt or invoice
- Auction catalogue entry and lot number
- Certificate of authenticity
- Independent valuation
- Export, import or licence paperwork
- Insurance schedule entry
- Previous owner's correspondence
- Photographs before any restoration
Write-on lines: Where the documents are kept · Copies held
Page 2
Repairs, restoration and exhibition
Table, 20 rows: Date · What was done, or where shown · By whom · Cost · Paperwork
Questions
Should I record a gap in the ownership chain?
Yes. A gap you have noted honestly is worth more than one quietly papered over — anyone assessing the item later will find it anyway, and having recorded it makes the rest of your account more credible, not less.
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Also in the resources library
The same subject, with a version you can fill in on screen.
Collection Purchase and Sale Ledger
Every purchase with its seller or platform and full cost.
HC-647 Log PDF Excel Online
Heirloom and Keepsake Register
Every heirloom and keepsake, with the person it came from and the story of how it reached you.
FH-402 Record PDF Excel Online
Photo Identification Sheet
A reference number and the physical location of the print, negative or file.
FH-397 Form PDF Online
