[[edit](/w/index.php?title=Provenance&action=edit&section=2 "Edit section: Researching the provenance of paintings")] [](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SirWilliamPetre.jpg) [Sir William Petre](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Petre "William Petre"), 1567: artist unknown. By the turn of the 17th century, this portrait was in the [collection](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumley_inventories "Lumley inventories") of [John, 1st Baron Lumley](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lumley,_1st_Baron_Lumley "John Lumley, 1st Baron Lumley"), a fact indicated by the *[cartellino](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartellino "Cartellino")* added to the painting at the upper right. It is now in the [National Portrait Gallery, London](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Portrait_Gallery,_London "National Portrait Gallery, London") The objective of provenance research is to produce a complete list of owners (together, where possible, with the supporting documentary proof) from when the painting was commissioned or in the artist's studio through to the present time. In practice, there are likely to be gaps in the list and documents that are missing or lost. The documented provenance should also list when the painting has been part of an exhibition and a [bibliography](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibliography "Bibliography") of when it has been discussed, or illustrated in print. Where the research is proceeding backwards, to discover the previous provenance of a painting whose current ownership and location are known, it is important to record the physical details of the painting – style, subject, signature, materials, dimensions, frame, etc.[[8]](#cite_note-8) The titles of paintings and the attribution to a particular artist may change over time. The size of the work and its description can be used to identify earlier references to the painting. The back of a painting can contain significant provenance information. There may be exhibition marks, dealer stamps, gallery labels and other indications of previous ownership. There may be shipping labels. In the BBC TV programme *[Fake or Fortune?](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fake_or_Fortune%3F "Fake or Fortune?")* the provenance of the painting *[Bords de la Seine à Argenteuil](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bords_de_la_Seine_%C3%A0_Argenteuil "Bords de la Seine à Argenteuil")* was investigated using a gallery sticker and shipping label on the back. Early provenance can sometimes be indicated by a *[cartellino](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartellino "Cartellino")*, a *[trompe-l'œil](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trompe-l'%C5%93il "Trompe-l'œil")* representation of an inscribed label, added to the front of a painting.[[9]](#cite_note-9) However, these can be forged, or can fade or be painted over. Auction records are an important resource to assist in researching the provenance of paintings. * The [Witt Library](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witt_Library "Witt Library") houses a collection of cuttings from auction catalogs which enables the researcher to identify occasions when a picture has been sold. * The Heinz Library at the [National Portrait Gallery, London](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Portrait_Gallery,_London "National Portrait Gallery, London") maintains a similar collection, but restricted to portraits. * The National Art Library at the [Victoria and Albert Museum](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_and_Albert_Museum "Victoria and Albert Museum") has a collection of UK sales catalogues.[[10]](#cite_note-10) * The University of York is establishing a web site with on-line resources for investigating art history in the period 1660–1735.[[11]](#cite_note-11) This includes diaries, sales catalogues, bills, correspondence and inventories. * The [Getty Research Institute](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getty_Research_Institute "Getty Research Institute") in Los Angeles has a *Project for the Study of Collecting and Provenance* (PSCP) which includes an on-line database, still being compiled, of auction and other records relating to painting provenance.[[12]](#cite_note-12) * The [Frick Art Reference Library](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frick_Art_Reference_Library "Frick Art Reference Library") in New York has an extensive collection of auction and exhibition catalogues.[[13]](#cite_note-13) * The [Netherlands Institute for Art History](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands_Institute_for_Art_History "Netherlands Institute for Art History") (RKD) has a number of databases related to artists from the Netherlands.[[14]](#cite_note-14) If a painting has been in private hands for an extended period and on display in a [stately home](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stately_home "Stately home"), it may be recorded in an inventory – for example, the [Lumley inventory](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumley_inventories "Lumley inventories").[[15]](#cite_note-15) The painting may also have been noticed by a visitor who subsequently wrote about it. It may have been mentioned in a will or a diary. Where the painting has been bought from a dealer, or changed hands in a private transaction, there may be a bill of sale or sales receipt that provides evidence of provenance. Where the artist is known, there may be a *[catalogue raisonné](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalogue_raisonn%C3%A9 "Catalogue raisonné")* listing all the artist's known works and their location at the time of writing. A database of *catalogues raisonné* is available at the [International Foundation for Art Research](http://www.ifar.org/cat_rais.php).[[16]](#cite_note-Grosvenor-16) Historic photos of the painting may be discussed and illustrated in a more general work on the artist, period or genre. Similarly, a photograph of a painting may show inscriptions (or a signature) that subsequently became lost as a result of overzealous restoration. Conversely, a photograph may show that an inscription was not visible at an earlier date. One of the disputed aspects of the ["Rice" portrait](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rice_portrait "The Rice portrait") of [Jane Austen](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Austen "Jane Austen") concerns apparent inscriptions identifying artist and sitter.[[16]](#cite_note-Grosvenor-16) Archives -------- [[edit](/w/index.php?title=Provenance&action=edit&section=3 "Edit section: Archives")] [](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BRA_stamp.jpg) A stamp on a historic document, showing that it has passed through the hands of the Records Preservation Section of the [British Records Association](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Records_Association "British Records Association"), a rescue service for archival material: the number indicates its earlier provenance Provenance – also known as **custodial history** – is a core concept within [archival science](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archival_science "Archival science") and [archival processing](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archival_processing "Archival processing"). The term refers to the individuals, groups, or organizations that originally created or received the items in an accumulation of records, and to the items' subsequent [chain of custody](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_of_custody "Chain of custody").[[17]](#cite_note-17) The principle of provenance, also termed the principle of "archival integrity", and a major strand in the broader principle of *[respect des fonds](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Respect_des_fonds "Respect des fonds")*, stipulates that records originating from a common source, or [fonds](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fonds "Fonds"), should be kept together – where practicable, physically, but in all cases intellectually, in the way in which they are catalogued and arranged in [finding aids](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finding_aid "Finding aid"). Conversely, records of different provenance should be preserved and documented separately. In archival practice, proof of provenance is provided by the operation of control systems that document the history of records kept in archives, including details of amendments made to them. The authority of an archival document or set of documents of which the provenance is uncertain, because of gaps in the recorded chain of custody, will be considered to be severely compromised. The principles of archival provenance were developed in the 19th century by both French and Prussian archivists, and gained widespread acceptance on the basis of their formulation in the *Manual for the Arrangement and Description of Archives* by Dutch state archivists Samuel Muller, J. A. Feith, and R. Fruin, published in the Netherlands in 1898, often referred to as the "[Dutch Manual](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archival_appraisal#History_of_appraisal_theory "Archival appraisal")".[[18]](#cite_note-18) Seamus Ross has argued a case for adapting established principles and theories of archival provenance to the field of modern digital preservation and curation.[[19]](#cite_note-19) *Provenance* is also the title of the journal published by the Society of Georgia Archivists.[[20]](#cite_note-20) Books ----- [[edit](/w/index.php?title=Provenance&action=edit&section=4 "Edit section: Books")] In the case of books, the study of provenance refers to the study of the ownership of individual copies of books. It is usually extended to include the study of the circumstances in which individual copies of books have changed ownership, and of evidence left in books that shows how readers interacted with them.[[21]](#cite_note-Pearson-21)[[22]](#cite_note-Pearson2005-22) Provenance studies may shed light on the books themselves, providing evidence of the role particular titles have played in social, intellectual and literary history. Such studies may also add to our knowledge of particular owners of books. For instance, looking at the books owned by a writer may help to show which works influenced him or her. Many provenance studies are historically focused, and concentrated on books owned by writers, politicians and public figures. The recent ownership of books is studied, however, as is evidence of how ordinary or anonymous readers have interacted with books.[[23]](#cite_note-Curwen-23)[[24]](#cite_note-Jackson-24) Provenance can be studied both by examining the books themselves, for instance looking at inscriptions, [marginalia](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marginalia "Marginalia"), [bookplates](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bookplate "Bookplate"), [book rhymes](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_rhyme "Book rhyme"), and bindings, and by reference to external sources of information such as auction catalogues.[[21]](#cite_note-Pearson-21) Pianos ------ [[edit](/w/index.php?title=Provenance&action=edit&section=5 "Edit section: Pianos")] Provenance for [pianos](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_history_and_musical_performance "Piano history and musical performance") is authenticated before a piano is inducted into a museum,[[25]](#cite_note-25) sold at an auction, or appraised for an estate or legal action, when it has extraordinary value in connection to a composer, performer, event or location that has become famous.[[26]](#cite_note-26)[[27]](#cite_note-27) For example, the piano that [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart") used during the final 10 years of his life, is on display in the Mozarteum[[28]](#cite_note-28) Museum in Salzburg, one of many historical pianos in museums around the world. The 300,000th Steinway piano that was presented to President Franklin D. Roosevelt by Theodore Steinway, on behalf of the Steinway family[[29]](#cite_note-29) is on display in the White House. It is one of many pianos with a provenance that have extraordinary value because of art, sculpture or design incorporated into the cabinet. It has legs carved into golden eagles and figures painted on the body of the piano.

{
  "evidence_unit_id": "unit:49b82edf77de8e07e792:afcb3a6751ec87fdccff:1:99f20c78fc2baf3f05ff",
  "artifact_id": "artifact:49b82edf77de8e07e792:6edc1142d1044e7186b5",
  "text": "[[edit](/w/index.php?title=Provenance&action=edit&section=2 \"Edit section: Researching the provenance of paintings\")]\n\n[![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/SirWilliamPetre.jpg/250px-SirWilliamPetre.jpg)](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SirWilliamPetre.jpg)\n\n[Sir William Petre](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Petre \"William Petre\"), 1567: artist unknown. By the turn of the 17th century, this portrait was in the [collection](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumley_inventories \"Lumley inventories\") of [John, 1st Baron Lumley](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lumley,_1st_Baron_Lumley \"John Lumley, 1st Baron Lumley\"), a fact indicated by the *[cartellino](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartellino \"Cartellino\")* added to the painting at the upper right. It is now in the [National Portrait Gallery, London](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Portrait_Gallery,_London \"National Portrait Gallery, London\")\n\nThe objective of provenance research is to produce a complete list of owners (together, where possible, with the supporting documentary proof) from when the painting was commissioned or in the artist's studio through to the present time. In practice, there are likely to be gaps in the list and documents that are missing or lost. The documented provenance should also list when the painting has been part of an exhibition and a [bibliography](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibliography \"Bibliography\") of when it has been discussed, or illustrated in print.\n\nWhere the research is proceeding backwards, to discover the previous provenance of a painting whose current ownership and location are known, it is important to record the physical details of the painting – style, subject, signature, materials, dimensions, frame, etc.[[8]](#cite_note-8) The titles of paintings and the attribution to a particular artist may change over time. The size of the work and its description can be used to identify earlier references to the painting.\n\nThe back of a painting can contain significant provenance information. There may be exhibition marks, dealer stamps, gallery labels and other indications of previous ownership. There may be shipping labels. In the BBC TV programme *[Fake or Fortune?](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fake_or_Fortune%3F \"Fake or Fortune?\")* the provenance of the painting *[Bords de la Seine à Argenteuil](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bords_de_la_Seine_%C3%A0_Argenteuil \"Bords de la Seine à Argenteuil\")* was investigated using a gallery sticker and shipping label on the back. Early provenance can sometimes be indicated by a *[cartellino](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartellino \"Cartellino\")*, a *[trompe-l'œil](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trompe-l'%C5%93il \"Trompe-l'œil\")* representation of an inscribed label, added to the front of a painting.[[9]](#cite_note-9) However, these can be forged, or can fade or be painted over.\n\nAuction records are an important resource to assist in researching the provenance of paintings.\n\n* The [Witt Library](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witt_Library \"Witt Library\") houses a collection of cuttings from auction catalogs which enables the researcher to identify occasions when a picture has been sold.\n* The Heinz Library at the [National Portrait Gallery, London](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Portrait_Gallery,_London \"National Portrait Gallery, London\") maintains a similar collection, but restricted to portraits.\n* The National Art Library at the [Victoria and Albert Museum](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_and_Albert_Museum \"Victoria and Albert Museum\") has a collection of UK sales catalogues.[[10]](#cite_note-10)\n* The University of York is establishing a web site with on-line resources for investigating art history in the period 1660–1735.[[11]](#cite_note-11) This includes diaries, sales catalogues, bills, correspondence and inventories.\n* The [Getty Research Institute](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getty_Research_Institute \"Getty Research Institute\") in Los Angeles has a *Project for the Study of Collecting and Provenance* (PSCP) which includes an on-line database, still being compiled, of auction and other records relating to painting provenance.[[12]](#cite_note-12)\n* The [Frick Art Reference Library](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frick_Art_Reference_Library \"Frick Art Reference Library\") in New York has an extensive collection of auction and exhibition catalogues.[[13]](#cite_note-13)\n* The [Netherlands Institute for Art History](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands_Institute_for_Art_History \"Netherlands Institute for Art History\") (RKD) has a number of databases related to artists from the Netherlands.[[14]](#cite_note-14)\n\nIf a painting has been in private hands for an extended period and on display in a [stately home](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stately_home \"Stately home\"), it may be recorded in an inventory – for example, the [Lumley inventory](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumley_inventories \"Lumley inventories\").[[15]](#cite_note-15) The painting may also have been noticed by a visitor who subsequently wrote about it. It may have been mentioned in a will or a diary. Where the painting has been bought from a dealer, or changed hands in a private transaction, there may be a bill of sale or sales receipt that provides evidence of provenance. Where the artist is known, there may be a *[catalogue raisonné](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalogue_raisonn%C3%A9 \"Catalogue raisonné\")* listing all the artist's known works and their location at the time of writing. A database of *catalogues raisonné* is available at the [International Foundation for Art Research](http://www.ifar.org/cat_rais.php).[[16]](#cite_note-Grosvenor-16)\n\nHistoric photos of the painting may be discussed and illustrated in a more general work on the artist, period or genre. Similarly, a photograph of a painting may show inscriptions (or a signature) that subsequently became lost as a result of overzealous restoration. Conversely, a photograph may show that an inscription was not visible at an earlier date. One of the disputed aspects of the [\"Rice\" portrait](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rice_portrait \"The Rice portrait\") of [Jane Austen](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Austen \"Jane Austen\") concerns apparent inscriptions identifying artist and sitter.[[16]](#cite_note-Grosvenor-16)\n\nArchives\n--------\n\n[[edit](/w/index.php?title=Provenance&action=edit&section=3 \"Edit section: Archives\")]\n\n[![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3e/BRA_stamp.jpg/250px-BRA_stamp.jpg)](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BRA_stamp.jpg)\n\nA stamp on a historic document, showing that it has passed through the hands of the Records Preservation Section of the [British Records Association](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Records_Association \"British Records Association\"), a rescue service for archival material: the number indicates its earlier provenance\n\nProvenance – also known as **custodial history** – is a core concept within [archival science](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archival_science \"Archival science\") and [archival processing](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archival_processing \"Archival processing\"). The term refers to the individuals, groups, or organizations that originally created or received the items in an accumulation of records, and to the items' subsequent [chain of custody](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_of_custody \"Chain of custody\").[[17]](#cite_note-17) The principle of provenance, also termed the principle of \"archival integrity\", and a major strand in the broader principle of *[respect des fonds](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Respect_des_fonds \"Respect des fonds\")*, stipulates that records originating from a common source, or [fonds](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fonds \"Fonds\"), should be kept together – where practicable, physically, but in all cases intellectually, in the way in which they are catalogued and arranged in [finding aids](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finding_aid \"Finding aid\"). Conversely, records of different provenance should be preserved and documented separately.\n\nIn archival practice, proof of provenance is provided by the operation of control systems that document the history of records kept in archives, including details of amendments made to them. The authority of an archival document or set of documents of which the provenance is uncertain, because of gaps in the recorded chain of custody, will be considered to be severely compromised.\n\nThe principles of archival provenance were developed in the 19th century by both French and Prussian archivists, and gained widespread acceptance on the basis of their formulation in the *Manual for the Arrangement and Description of Archives* by Dutch state archivists Samuel Muller, J. A. Feith, and R. Fruin, published in the Netherlands in 1898, often referred to as the \"[Dutch Manual](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archival_appraisal#History_of_appraisal_theory \"Archival appraisal\")\".[[18]](#cite_note-18)\n\nSeamus Ross has argued a case for adapting established principles and theories of archival provenance to the field of modern digital preservation and curation.[[19]](#cite_note-19)\n\n*Provenance* is also the title of the journal published by the Society of Georgia Archivists.[[20]](#cite_note-20)\n\nBooks\n-----\n\n[[edit](/w/index.php?title=Provenance&action=edit&section=4 \"Edit section: Books\")]\n\nIn the case of books, the study of provenance refers to the study of the ownership of individual copies of books. It is usually extended to include the study of the circumstances in which individual copies of books have changed ownership, and of evidence left in books that shows how readers interacted with them.[[21]](#cite_note-Pearson-21)[[22]](#cite_note-Pearson2005-22)\n\nProvenance studies may shed light on the books themselves, providing evidence of the role particular titles have played in social, intellectual and literary history. Such studies may also add to our knowledge of particular owners of books. For instance, looking at the books owned by a writer may help to show which works influenced him or her.\n\nMany provenance studies are historically focused, and concentrated on books owned by writers, politicians and public figures. The recent ownership of books is studied, however, as is evidence of how ordinary or anonymous readers have interacted with books.[[23]](#cite_note-Curwen-23)[[24]](#cite_note-Jackson-24)\n\nProvenance can be studied both by examining the books themselves, for instance looking at inscriptions, [marginalia](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marginalia \"Marginalia\"), [bookplates](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bookplate \"Bookplate\"), [book rhymes](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_rhyme \"Book rhyme\"), and bindings, and by reference to external sources of information such as auction catalogues.[[21]](#cite_note-Pearson-21)\n\nPianos\n------\n\n[[edit](/w/index.php?title=Provenance&action=edit&section=5 \"Edit section: Pianos\")]\n\nProvenance for [pianos](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_history_and_musical_performance \"Piano history and musical performance\") is authenticated before a piano is inducted into a museum,[[25]](#cite_note-25) sold at an auction, or appraised for an estate or legal action, when it has extraordinary value in connection to a composer, performer, event or location that has become famous.[[26]](#cite_note-26)[[27]](#cite_note-27) For example, the piano that [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart \"Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart\") used during the final 10 years of his life, is on display in the Mozarteum[[28]](#cite_note-28) Museum in Salzburg, one of many historical pianos in museums around the world. The 300,000th Steinway piano that was presented to President Franklin D. Roosevelt by Theodore Steinway, on behalf of the Steinway family[[29]](#cite_note-29) is on display in the White House. It is one of many pianos with a provenance that have extraordinary value because of art, sculpture or design incorporated into the cabinet. It has legs carved into golden eagles and figures painted on the body of the piano.",
  "access_class": "public",
  "heading": "Researching the provenance of paintings (part 1 of 2)",
  "observed_at": "2026-07-18T21:40:59.214Z",
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}