The Italian id card art gallery Linea Murano Art has used NFC tags to protect the authenticity of the displayed works. Buyers as well as guests can learn about information regarding the artists and their artworks, ensuring that the objects are genuine.
Celotto’s art is sold worldwide, with a very high price, and due to that, some counterfeiters have copied his techniques and sold their own works as his, which cheats the buyers and diminishes the value of Celotto’s creations. Thus, the art gallery wanted a technology that could prove the authenticity of the works. Besides, they also wanted a method for providing information to prospective buyers.
They had considered utilizing an RFID system using passive high-frequency (HF) handheld or desktop RFID readers. However, as the number of NFC-enabled smartphones has grown such that they finally decided to deploy an NFC solution.
The new system consists of NFC tags, a Samsung Galaxy Mini NFC-enabled smartphone, an NFC reader plugged into a PC, and RFID Soluzioni’s software on Linea Murano’s server, to store data of each piece of art. The system was first introduced to the public on June 28, 2012.
Now each piece of Celotto’s art is tagged, and then the tag’s unique ID number is entered into the software on the gallery’s server, including data and photos related to the artwork.
Visitors can place the gallery’s Samsung NFC-enabled phone, or their own NFC-enabled handset, under the glass shelf where the tag is attached to the glassware, to read the tag.
When a customer purchases a piece of art, he/she can request to have his/her own name added to the item’s data, so that anyone using an NFC reader could view not only details about the art, but also the owner’s identity.
Art-buying clients have shown an interest in reading the tags. However, the greatest benefit has been the assurance that the gallery can guarantee the authenticity of the work that it sells.
