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. Every image is a 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
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.
The 64-character value printed on the last page of the record.
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.