The Forbidden City in China adopts ARTtrust to Certify Unique Artwork Which Dates Back 150 Years

PARIS, FRANCE, May 26, 2011 (Press-News.org) The Forbidden City opts for Bubble Tag technology, developed by Prooftag and commercialized by ARTtrust, to authenticate a series of rare and precious books. Last December, Prooftag was recognized by Chinese authorities through the China Anti-Counterfeiting Technology Association (CATA), reinforcing their legitimacy in this country against counterfeit and in protection of artworks.

The project concerns a new and unique artwork - "Jiu Jing Ding".

This hand painted book was hidden in the Imperial Collection of the Forbidden City. It was offered to the Emperor Qiang Long by the Dalai Lama a 150years ago. It depicts a very ancient buddist way of Yoga which was used by the Emperors.

The Forbidden City will reproduce this book in 600 limited edition copies, hand painted with gold. To guarantee each copy as authentic and traceable, the conservation team of the Chinese museum depends on ARTtrust.

ARTtrust makes it possible to give an individual identity to each piece of work, thanks to the Bubble Seal developed by Prooftag. Every Bubble Seal is composed of a unique and non-duplicable Bubble Tag . Once the Bubble Seal is placed on an item, it cannot be removed without visually affecting the metallic foil.

Buyers and art collectors can verify the authenticity of the artworks by entering the reference number of the Bubble Seal at http://www.arttrustonline.com or with the free ARTtrust iPhone app. These options offer a visual verification of the Bubble Tag as well as additional information about the tagged work. By providing each piece with a unique identity, Bubble Tag protects the rights of artists and increases the value of their work by reinforcing the confidence of public or private collectors.

"Protecting artistic heritage is a major concern for collectors anywhere in the world. Magnum Photos and Galerie VU' in France are already using ARTtrust. Today we are very happy and honored to include The Forbidden City in China among our prestigious references, confirming the necessity of this solution in the international art market." declares Laetitia Dauce, manager of ARTtrust.

"The Chinese are more and more sensitive to counterfeit and recognize the potential of Bubble Tag to certify both products and documents. We are very proud ARTtrust is able to employ our technology to protect artwork and look forward to future partnerships to guarantee and verify other valuable pieces." concludes Franck Bourrières, Marketing and Sales Director of Prooftag.

About ARTtrust - http://www.arttrustonline.com

ARTtrust, an international group headquartered in Paris, is specialized in protecting works of art. Established thanks to collaboration between HP and Prooftag, and further developed by Wilhelm Imaging Research, ARTtrust has been created to provide a solution which enables traceability and authentication of artworks. The ARTtrust self-certification system is used by artists, photographers, galleries and collectors in over 40 countries. http://www.arttrustonline.com

About Prooftag - http://www.prooftag.net

Prooftag was founded in 2004 by Novatec, a laboratory dedicated to electronic research. While processing an adhesive in 1999, Novatec discovered spontaneous bubbles within the polymer were formed. What was initially an accidental discovery has ingeniously been transformed into Bubble Tag .
Since 2004, Bubble Tag has been instrumental in numerous cases of brand protection (more than 25 applications in vineyards, watch-making, jewelers, gemology certificates). The high level of security conferred by Bubble Tag has allowed the group to expand into document security. Several governments choose Bubble Tag to protect their documents.