About
What Iconotheca is, why it exists and who it is for.
On this page 4 sections
What this is
Iconotheca is a record of individual works of art. For each work we publish what it is, where it was found, whose hands it passed through, where it has been shown, what has been written about it, and what it has made at auction, with a citation on every claim.
Why it exists
The information already exists, but it is scattered across museum records, auction catalogues that go offline after the sale, court filings and out-of-print literature, and nobody keeps it current once the hammer falls. A record that is maintained after the sale is worth more than a news story that froze on the day of it.
Who it is for
Curators and art historians who need the chain and the citations. Auction specialists who need the ownership history to stand up. Collectors doing diligence before they buy. Students learning how the field actually establishes what a thing is. And anyone who has read about a work and wants to know where it has been, and where it is now.
Published by
Iconotheca is published by Servola Systems GmbH. Editor-in-Chief: Leon Soliman.