Appraisals
Would you like to know what a piece is worth?
Get in touch or make an appointment. Emil Fonfoneata looks at the hallmarks, the maker, where and when a piece was made and the condition it is in. You hear what he thinks straight away, and you receive a written report on request. The same applies if you are considering a purchase and want it checked first.
Depending on your situation, we meet at Emil’s office in Ghent, or he comes to you.
Estates and inheritance
When an estate is settled, silver has to be valued for the declaration and for the division between heirs. Emil examines each piece separately and puts his valuation in writing, which you can pass on to your notary. If it concerns the contents of a whole house, he comes to you.
Insurance
For insurance purposes you need a valuation of what it would cost to replace a piece. Emil also draws up this kind of valuation after damage or theft.
Expert at Argus
Emil Fonfoneata is an expert at Argus-Artexperts, the Belgian association of art experts. His field is European silver from the seventeenth to the twentieth century, and applied arts of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Argus experts work for private clients, and also for notaries, lawyers, insurers and courts.
Argus publishes the fees its experts work with: an hourly rate for pieces of modest value, a percentage of the appraised value for a formal appraisal and valuation, and separate arrangements for travel and appraisal days. Those costs fall away if we buy the piece or take on a sales mandate.
See the Argus fee schedule (in Dutch and French)
The rates are indicative: every expert may depart from them. What applies in your case is agreed in advance.Practical
By appointment only, in Ghent or at your home. In Dutch, French or English.