A useful international standard for describing and documenting artworks Object ID was created by the Getty Trust and is now administered by the International Council of Museums (ICOM). Use the Object ID Checklist for documenting the items in your collection. If you follow the checklist, you will have a photograph and all the necessary identifying information about your artwork in case it is lost or damaged. It is too late to take a photograph once the work is missing. There are several computer programs on the market to facilitate detailed documentation of your collection, from basic databases such as Microsoft Access and FileMaker Pro, to specialized art databases. If you own a work for which there is a catalogue raisonné or a supplement in progress, be sure to notify the author(s) so that it can be included in the catalogue.
(Source: Intl Foundation for Art Research)