Artifact Grading Standard

CORE DEFINITION

The standard classifies artifacts into grades according to assessed historical, artistic, and scientific value, and the grade determines the level of protection, the conditions of display, and restrictions such as prohibitions on export. Its function is to allocate scarce conservation resources by priority rather than by availability. The core claim is that explicit value dimensions make protection decisions defensible and consistent across institutions. The qualification is that grading is a judgment made at a point in time, since value assessments shift as scholarship changes, so grades must be reviewed and age alone is a poor criterion.