A condition report is not an affirmation of the worth, authenticity, or purchase-ability of an object. It is documentation of what is visible in a certain moment of time. A useful condition report enables a reader to understand an object without requiring a lot of inference of phrases like “good for its age” or “minor wear.” It documents materials, dimensions, surface attributes, damage, repairs, replacements, and things that could not or should not have been inspected. Such information helps future research, comparison, and storage, and it is essential for any communication with sellers, conservators, and category specialists.
First comes an identification summary of the object. Identify object types, dimensions, materials of which the object is made, construction, marks, labels, and other attributes given to you by the object’s provenance. Do not make attribution at this stage. Record things like “maker’s mark, blue in colour on the underside” instead of identifying the manufacturer before you know that the manufacturer is correct, for instance. If you have a ceramic bowl with painted decorations on the body, a glazed foot, and a crack in the rim, just document each attribute: “painted, foot glazed, hairline crack in rim.” If you’re writing about a piece of furniture with veneer, dovetailed joints, and replaced drawer pulls, do write those elements, but do not attempt to determine what components of the furniture are original.
The bulk of the condition report should then proceed in a steady progression through the object from top to bottom in various ways, such as front, side, back, top, bottom, inside, and removable parts. This may vary depending on what the object is. Note chips, cracks, losses, scratches, staining, foxing, corrosion, loose joints, lifted veneer, shredded fibre, broken bindings, or surface instability. Give locations and measures if you can. “Minor chip” does not convey anything. “Five-millimeter glaze chip from outside surface, right near front lip” gives someone who is later reviewing that report information to confirm through photographs, if necessary.
Next, note repairs and alterations because it is easy to overlook them. Check for alterations in colour, texture, tool marks, fasteners, glue, stitching, solders, repaints, and surface finishes. Hinge replacements may be distinguished from originals by different kinds of screw-heads. Ceramic repairs, especially handles, often have visible join lines or colour differences in the glaze. New fabric may conceal original furniture frames. Polished metal may obscure signs of oxidation. Do not refer to something as poorly-done or skillfully-done, recently-done or old work, if you don’t have proof. Instead, document differences and their locations.
As a training exercise, choose a harmless object (something like something you’d find in a garage sale, for instance) and try writing a condition report without doing any preliminary research. Try to keep the report to one page. Provide a neutral identification of the object type, general condition, specific damage, potential repairs, and what components were missing or replaced, along with any areas that were left ambiguous. Photograph the base, back, joints, marks, and any other damage described in the report. Now, compare the report with the photos. If a description cannot be located visually, edit it. If something is present in a photograph that is not mentioned in the report, identify and describe it in the report.
Finally, document any information on handling and inspection. Include loose or flaking elements, protruding sharp edges, powdery corrosion, flaking surface coatings, brittle paper, or damage that makes moving the object difficult or dangerous. If the report was done under magnification, state that. State if the inside of a box was visible, if the lid was removable, or if a drawer wasn’t examined. Date the report. A good condition report is not one that is more confident; rather, it is one in which any observations can be located, understood, and compared over time by others.