Does original art come with an English-language certificate of authenticity?
At Perfeito Studio, yes: the Certificate of Authenticity and the entire collector's package are bilingual, with the Portuguese text placed first and the English text immediately after, on every page of the document — not a translation prepared only if a foreign buyer asks for one. That covers the certificate itself, but it does not cover a sworn or certified translation for customs or insurance purposes in your own country — confirm that specific need with the studio.
Bilingual by default, not translated on request
A common worry for a buyer outside Brazil is that the paperwork attached to a piece will arrive in Portuguese only, leaving them with a document they cannot read and cannot easily show to an insurer, an appraiser, or a customs officer back home. That is not how Perfeito Studio builds its collector's package: the Certificate of Authenticity and the full 16-page package that accompanies every acquisition — cover, certificate, artist dossier, provenance page, conservation guidance, installation guidance — are printed with the Portuguese text first and the English text directly after it, on the same pages, in every section. For a two-column layout, Portuguese runs on the left and English on the right. This is a fixed studio standard applied to every sale, regardless of where the buyer lives, not a special version assembled only when someone asks for English. See the eight elements a serious certificate of authenticity should carry — the studio's own certificate is bilingual on top of meeting that baseline.
What bilingual does — and does not — solve
A bilingual certificate solves the immediate problem: you can read what you were given, hand it to an insurer or an appraiser in your own country, and understand exactly what it claims about the piece, without waiting on a separate translation. Communication around the sale itself works the same way — the studio deals directly with buyers by WhatsApp in whichever of English or Portuguese the buyer prefers.
What a bilingual certificate does not automatically solve is a formal requirement some countries or institutions impose for a sworn or certified translation — a translation performed and stamped by a translator officially recognized for that purpose, sometimes required for customs clearance, insurance underwriting, or an estate filing. Nothing in the studio's published materials states that it provides or arranges a sworn translation as a standard service. If your situation requires one, treat that as a separate step and confirm directly with the studio whether that particular service is offered — do not assume the bilingual certificate satisfies a requirement that specifically calls for a certified or sworn document.
Does this differ for a US buyer vs a European buyer?
The document itself does not change by destination: every acquisition — wherever it ships — gets the same bilingual Portuguese/English certificate and package. What can differ by country is what your own customs authority, insurer, or tax office asks you to present alongside that certificate when the piece crosses a border, and those requirements are set by your jurisdiction, not by the studio. A US buyer and a buyer in, say, Germany or Portugal may face different import declarations, VAT treatment, or documentation formats on their end. That is outside what a studio's certificate can settle in advance — confirm the specific requirement with your own country's customs authority or a customs broker before the piece ships, rather than assuming the bilingual certificate alone clears every local requirement.
From the studio
From the studio
I write the certificate and the whole collector's package in Portuguese first, then in English, because that is genuinely the order I think in and the order that reflects where the piece was made — but I never wanted an international buyer to receive a document they could not fully read. So every page carries both languages side by side, not a summary in one and the full text in the other. It costs more space — the package runs 16 pages instead of a shorter single-language version — but it means the certificate a collector in São Paulo receives and the one a collector in Lisbon or Chicago receives are the same document, just read in whichever column comes naturally to them.
What I have not built into that package is a sworn translation stamp — that is a formal, jurisdiction-specific service, and it is not something I can promise applies to your situation without knowing what you actually need it for. If a buyer tells me their country requires that for customs or insurance, I would rather say so plainly and work out the right step with them than let a bilingual certificate be mistaken for something it is not.
Frequently asked
Does original art come with an English-language certificate of authenticity?
At Perfeito Studio, yes — the Certificate of Authenticity is bilingual, with Portuguese text followed immediately by the English text on the same pages, as part of the standard collector's package issued with every acquisition.
What should a foreign buyer know before acting on this?
The certificate itself is bilingual by default, but a bilingual certificate is not the same as a sworn or certified translation, which some countries require for customs, insurance, or estate purposes. If your situation calls for that specific kind of document, confirm with the studio directly whether it is available rather than assuming the standard certificate covers it.
Does this differ for a US buyer vs a European buyer?
No — the certificate and package are the same bilingual Portuguese/English document regardless of destination. What can differ is what your own country's customs authority or insurer asks you to present alongside it, which is set by your jurisdiction and should be confirmed with a local customs broker or authority.
Who handles this in practice — the artist, a shipper, or the buyer?
The studio (Alyne, directly) prepares and signs the bilingual certificate and package as part of every acquisition. A shipper handles packing and transport logistics, not the content of the documentation. Any import declaration or translation requirement specific to your country is the buyer's responsibility to confirm and satisfy on their end.
What could go wrong if this step is skipped?
It isn't an optional step the studio skips — a bilingual certificate ships with every acquisition. The real risk sits on the buyer's side: losing or failing to keep the certificate and package together with the rest of a piece's paperwork, or assuming it satisfies a country-specific sworn-translation requirement without checking first.
See the bilingual certificate before you decide
Every acquisition ships with a bilingual Portuguese/English Certificate of Authenticity and collector's package — ask on WhatsApp to see an example page before you commit to a purchase.
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