Alighiero Boetti valuation

Alighiero Boetti (1940–1994) was born in Turin. He left business studies at the University of Turin to work as an artist and, at twenty, went to Paris to study engraving. In the late 1960s he was a key member of Arte Povera, the group of young Italian artists working with simple and industrial materials, and after moving to Rome in 1972 he distanced himself from the movement. He signed many works "Alighiero e Boetti", a double identity that suited his interest in pairs such as order and disorder, and much of the work was made by others to his instructions. From 1971 to 1979 he ran the One Hotel in Kabul, and artisans in Afghanistan and later Pakistan embroidered his Mappa, world maps in which each country carries its flag, and the brightly coloured Arazzi. Other series include the ballpoint pen works and the Aerei. He took part in Documenta 5 and 7 and several Venice Biennales, and the retrospective Game Plan was shown at Tate Modern and MoMA in 2012.

Besides the embroideries there are ballpoint pen works, drawings and other works on paper, sculpture, and prints and editions. So much was carried out by assistants and embroiderers that authentication matters: the Archivio Alighiero Boetti in Rome examines works at owners' request and issues certificates, so a buyer will expect one. For a print, check the edition number, publisher and signature. Embroideries should be checked for fading, stains and moth damage.