Appraisal is the valuation of an artwork by an authorized, accredited, recognized and trained expert. While it commonly implies the fixing by an expert of the monetary worth of a thing, appraisal also applies to any critical judgment.

In essence, there are many different types of appraisals in the field of art, such as furniture appraisals, antiquities appraisals, textiles appraisals and folk-art appraisals.