Tacks

During the recent examination of a painting I noticed a small, 1 cm
in diameter, round metal "tack" placed into the right, bottom
tacking margin with "Oakville No. 10" embossed into its head.  The
shank of the tack is made from a long, thin section of the head,
which has been punched out, rolled,  and bent 90 degrees.  The
painting is a 17th century Northern Italian work.  I suspect this
tack may be a means of identification, perhaps from an auction
house? etc.

Has anyone come across anything similar?
I would appreciate any information about this curiosity.

Charlotte Seifen
Painting Conservator
Balboa Art Conservation Center


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 13:42
                Distributed: Wednesday, February 2, 2000
                       Message Id: cdl-13-42-028
                                  ***