The identity record of a prayer bead set
Photograph it and see the preliminary finding; send the piece in for a full record.
No stock photography. The images are drawings of the measurement scene.
A claim says one thing, the findings say another
Seller's claim
A claim is an assertion; it does not feed the conclusions.
Conclusion cards
An attribution cannot rise above the step the available evidence allows.
Four steps
- 01
Insured shipping or in person
- 02
Measurement, optics, UV, microscope
- 03
Conclusion cards, scope, limits
- 04
The object returns to you
What we measure, what we cannot say
Each row puts what the test says next to what it cannot say; both come from the same vocabulary.
Raking light
Says: Reveals surface topography: lathe marks, mould seams, wear.
Cannot say: Does not date the marks; artificial ageing leaves marks too.
Transmitted light
Says: Shows internal structure: flow lines, bubbles, cracks, fills.
Cannot say: Does not tie the structure to a material name; similar traces occur in different resins.
UV 365 nm
Says: Fluorescence colour and intensity; surface treatment, repairs and fills.
Cannot say: Gives no material identity on its own; similar fluorescence occurs across materials.
Microscope
Says: Magnified surface and internal inspection: drill mouth, mould traces, crystal and bubble forms.
Cannot say: Gives no age and names no maker; similar workmanship recurs in different hands.
Caliper measurement
Says: Bead and component dimensions, repeated on at least five representative beads.
Cannot say: Size alone indicates neither period nor school.
Hydrostatic specific gravity
Says: Density by underwater weighing; the strongest in-house measurement separating material families.
Cannot say: Does not separate materials sharing a density band; yields no species level.
Explore
Masters archive
Whose hand, on which source; with its ceiling and its contradictions.
Tying trade language back to its source
What trade terms mean, where they come from, how we know.
Do you have a record card in hand?
Record verification
To see the summary of a published record, enter the TES number printed on the card together with the verification code next to it.
If you only have the TES number, scan the QR code on the card: the record opens from the card's address, not from the number alone.
What the information on this page rests on
A grade states the strength of the source, not of the conclusion.
The full method and source list- Evidence grade A+ — primary document. The grade states the type of the source, not the truth of the claim.
- Evidence grade A — publication. The grade states the type of the source, not the truth of the claim.
- Evidence grade B — auction or explicit attribution. The grade states the type of the source, not the truth of the claim.
- Evidence grade C — institutional seller. The grade states the type of the source, not the truth of the claim.
- Evidence grade D — listing, forum, social media. The grade states the type of the source, not the truth of the claim.
- Evidence grade X — sources disagree. The grade states the type of the source, not the truth of the claim.