Interview with Julie Toussaint — art historian and provenance specialist

Julie Toussaint, historian and archaeologist, provenance expert,preserves memory and authenticity on the art market.

Anarchaeologist and art historian specialising in the conservation andrestoration of cultural heritage, Julie Toussaint is an expert in provenanceresearch. With solid experience on the international art market, her role is tolegitimise the presence of works of art or archaeological pieces on the marketby researching their pedigree.

Julie, could you introduce yourself and explain what your day-to-day workinvolves?

My name is Julie Toussaint. I’m an arthistorian and archaeologist by training, and I recently specialised inresearching the provenance of works of art. In concrete terms, I study workslinked to Second World War looting or to illicit trafficking, which sometimesreappear on the market when they shouldn’t be there.

My daily life is split between archives andfairs, where I talk with the various market players to retrace the history ofworks. My role is to determine whether they should join a privatecollection, be put back on the market, or join a museum collection.

If you were going on atrip and could take only one object, which would you choose, and why?

It’s 2025, and even though I don’t like toadmit it, I think I’d take my phone. It lets me take photos, communicate withmy loved ones and stay in touch if needed. It’s crazy to think that today,without a phone, you feel almost as if part of you is missing. And yet the mostbeautiful trips I’ve made were precisely the ones where I didn’t have one. It’sparadoxical… But if I had to be alone, that link with those I love would beessential.

And if the phone didn’t count?

Then I’d take my old filmcamera, an Olympus S66. I love the idea of photographing on film: the realsurprise only comes at development, when you discover details or moments you’dforgotten. In the end, it all revolves around that for me: keeping a trace,preserving memory.

And you — how do you preserve the memory of your personal objects?

It’s quite ironic: for years,I’ve been advising my clients on the importance of keeping an inventory… butI’d never done it for myself! In my work, I handle hundreds of inventories. Butfor my own objects, I made do with my memory and a few scattered papers.Nothing structured, nothing really complete. Until Objectory, I’d never takenthe time to gather all this information in one tool.

How do you assess the value of an object?

The advice I’ve always given myclients is simple: don’t buy with the idea of making an investment, but out ofgenuine love. Every time a client bought thinking they were making a “gooddeal”, they ended up regretting it. Their collection had no emotional meaning,and it often reflected poor decisions. For me, the essential criterion remainspersonal attachment. If you want to invest to make money, there are otheroptions — wine, spirits, for example — but art isn’t the safest ground.

Of course, you could developparticular cases, such as goldsmithing or certain very specific segments. Butoverall, I always defend the idea of buying with your heart.

What advice would you give to private individuals who want to manage theirestate, and in particular their objects?

One word: provenance. Withoutclear provenance, there’s a real problem. It guarantees not only the legitimacyof a piece on the market, but also its authenticity. In some fields, such asAfrican or Asian art, the number of fakes is considerable. But it’s also truefor European art. For example, any painting created before 1933 must bechecked: did it have a troubled history during the Second World War? It’sessential before any purchase.

You tested Objectory. What are your impressions?

The app is very intuitive andpleasant to use. I love having my collection at my fingertips, directly on myphone. It’s simple to add a work: a photo, a bit of information, and there itis in the dashboard. The dashboard gives an overall, motivating view of yourcollection: percentages by type of object, number of pieces… It’s almostaddictive!

I really appreciated the abilityto export the data. I did once run into a bug during an export, but it’s aprototype, so I suppose that’s part of the adventure. But apart from that, it’sa unique tool on the market, with strong potential in my view. Keep developingObjectory: it’s a lovely idea, and I really believe in its future.

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