How to choose and buy Traditional Aboriginal art
                     How to choose and buy 
Traditional Aboriginal art
By Topdidj
Research
Speak to a range of people in the industry but most importantly, from whom 
you are considering buying Traditional Aboriginal art. Don’t be shy about 
asking them many questions. You seek to ascertain if they pay the artist the 
correct value of their work (are they undercutting the artist and making a large 
profit?), what are the artists working conditions like and was it made by the 
artist they say it is made by. If the person is reluctant to share information 
with you, that might be a warning. Try to gauge their knowledge of the 
artwork/artist/art center/community. This question serves as an indication of 
how connected they are to the artist/community or art center and may make 
you feel at ease knowing that people are not taken advantage of.
Can they provide a certificate of 
authenticity
Certificates of authenticity are made by Art Centres and accompany works 
of art to prove its authenticity and its origin (provenance). The certificate 
will have the art centres details on it—NOT the gallery/consultant— as well 
as the artists' details and the artwork details. Different art centres 
certificates look different, however they all have the same information on 
them:  Name of Artist Information about the artist, such as language 
group, place of birth, skin name. Picture of the artwork and in some cases 
the artist Title of painting Size of the art work – make sure it matches the 
artwork.
Beware of forgeries
Aboriginal artists are often exploited by either their work being forged by Aboriginal 
or non-Aboriginal people. Or by falsifying authentication documents, or more 
covertly, exploiting the socio-economic poverty of artists. This occurs when artists 
need money fast and so sell their work for cheaper than what it is worth on the 
market in order to get money quicker.Individuals who make an unfair profit on top of 
sales are called carpet-baggers. They undercut artists because they pay less for works 
than what the market dictates. They can also distribute forgeries or works that have 
been acquired unethically. They are not accountable to an organisation or body that 
ensures best practice (for example the Indigenous art code or Australian Commercial 
Galleries Association) and are often known in the sector for unscrupulous dealing, so 
ask around.
Security and privacy
When you buy something online, you send your credit card details encrypted 
with SSL to the server which houses the merchants site - but how does it get 
from there to the merchant? All too often with ordinary unencrypted email - 
open for anyone to read like a postcard. We use encryption software to 
protect the privacy of your order information from our server to us. PGP uses 
2048 bit encryption where the industry standard SSL uses at the most 128 bit 
encryption.
Topdidj
Website: https://topdidj.com/
contact number: 0414 888 786
Email: [email protected]
Address: 363 Gorge Rd, on the crossing with Jaensch Road, 
Australia