Use advanced production date settings when you need to describe an artwork’s creation date with more precision or when its exact date is uncertain. These conventions help maintain consistency across certificates and provide clarity for researchers, curators and collectors.
How to access advanced date settings
Open your certify form
Find the Production Date section, in the 'Create' section of your certificate form.
Click the Advanced toggle
This reveals all available fields for nuanced date descriptions.
Available date conventions and what they mean
Circa (c.)
Use c. when the exact year is not known but you can estimate the general period.
Example: c. 2006 means the work was created around 2006.
Date range (–)
Use a date range when the work was produced over a span of years.
Example: 2010–2015 indicates active creation between 2010 and 2015.
Two distinct moments (/)
Use / when two different years are relevant to the work.
Example: 1987/1998 may indicate an initial creation date in 1987 and a later intervention or edition in 1998.
Undated (n.d.)
Use n.d. only when no reliable year exists.
This should be reserved for cases where no timeframe can be supported by research, records or the artist.
Attributed or uncertain dates [ ]
Place a date inside brackets to indicate the year is proposed or uncertain.
Examples:
[c. 2002] means the work is thought to date from around 2002
[1987]/1997 means the first year is an estimate and the second is confirmed
2009/[2012] means the first year is confirmed and the second is estimated
How to mark a year as attributed
If you want to designate a specific year as attributed:
In the expanded Advanced panel, enter the year
Select the Attributed checkbox next to that field
This automatically formats the date inside brackets.
Tips for choosing the correct format
Use circa when you have a general timeframe but no fixed year
Use ranges for gradual or long-term projects
Use slashes when two historical moments matter
Use brackets when the information is provisional
Use n.d. sparingly, only when no defensible date can be applied