Provenance research

Provenance is an object’s history: where it comes from, through which hands it has passed. It weighs on value, legitimacy and saleability.

Who it is for

• Buyers and sellers who want to secure a transaction.
• Heirs who want to understand the history of objects received.
• Museums and foundations before an acquisition.
• Galleries and auction houses preparing a catalogue.

How it works

1. Gathering known information: accounts, documents, labels, markings.
2. Research in publications, exhibition and sale catalogues.
3. Reconstructing the chain of owners, with levels of certainty.
4. Risk analysis: export, restitution, cultural property.
5. Provenance report.

What you receive

• A documented chronology of holders.
• The list of documents and sources.
• The gaps and risks identified.

A legal and ethical framework

Depending on an object’s origin and the date it left, national and international rules apply, including the 1970 UNESCO Convention on cultural property. The practice is not a law firm: it flags sensitive points and recommends consulting a specialist lawyer where necessary. The practice does not give legal advice: it recommends consulting a specialist lawyer.

Limits and precautions

• A “clean” provenance on paper does not prove that an export was lawful.
• The practice does not issue a certificate of lawfulness.
• It informs its client of any serious sign of illicit origin.