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Episode 2 – Provenance is not a region in France
In this episode of Things We Threw Away, we (Jona and Stefanie) look at provenance and provenance research with the help of three examples. We will explore why it is important for objects, artefacts and even archaeological sites to know where an object comes from.
Provenance research tells us “by whom, when and where an artwork/object was created and who has possessed it during its history, including enquiring into and revealing the circumstances and substantive nature of sequential changes of ownership or possession or both.” (Tompkins 2020: 23). From the available information, we are able to piece together the history of the object and understand its significance in the present.
The three main fields in which provenance research is used are: Nazi looted art, colonialism and the antiquities trade.
Nazi-looted art refers to works of art (or any object) that were confiscated by the Nazi regime, or sold under duress, between 1932/1933 and 1945. There are numerous examples, and it is worth checking some of the websites below for detailed case studies of other objects. As a well-researched and positive example of restitution, we looked at the painting by J. M. W. Turner titled Glaucus and Scylla.
The painting was finished in 1841 and then sold to a private owner at the Royal Academy exhibition in London. Around 60 years later, in 1902, the painting was acquired by the Jewish collectors Anna and John Jeffé. In 1943, the pro-Nazi Vichy government forcibly took it from them. It is unknown who owned the painting from 1943 until 1956. The painting resurfaces in 1956 in London, where it is sold to an art gallery in New York. In 1966, it was acquired by the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas. Following the efforts of one of the heirs of the Jeffé family, the painting was discovered online and finally restituted to the heirs on 25 June 2006. A year later, it was repurchased by the Kimbell Art Museum, which has since been very open about the provenance of the painting.
Research into provenance is also used in the context of objects from former European colonies. This is particularly relevant to those who came to Europe under less than clear circumstances or with force.
In this case, we selected an item from the Wereldmuseum in Amsterdam. A significant research project, PPROCE (Pilot Project Provenance Research on Objects of the Colonial Era) was conducted to look into objects in several museums that have no or little provenance. The object in question, a ceremonial kris, was assumed to be from Indonesia. However, research into the object has shown that it could not be determined where it came from exactly or when it entered the Netherlands. There are two theories: 1. The artefact may have belonged to a man named "H. J. Domis" referring to Hendrik Jacob Domis, who was a civil servant in the ports of Semarang, Pasuruan, and Surabaya on the north coast of Java from 1812 to 1834. The second theory is that it was taken by the British in 1812. The object will remain in the Rijksmuseum, as its exact provenance cannot be ascertained. At least for the time being.
The illicit antiquity trade is the final field in which provenance research will be discussed. In this context, it typically refers to objects from the so-called source countries, such as Italy or Greece, as well as from war zones, including objects from Iran or Syria.
The object that forms the case study for this was, for a while at least, part of the collection in the Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam. It is a red-figure pyxis from the 3rd century BC, originally from Centuripe in Sicily. It came to the museum in 1997 through a dealer called Herbert Cahn. An association called SiciliAntica was going through a photo archive and found that the item had been taken out of Sicily illegally. A public prosecutor from Italy sent a letter to the museum in 2017, asking for the object to be returned to Sicily. The item has now been returned to Sicily in 2024.
Topics with References
General
* Looted Art: Provenance Research and Resitution in the Netherlands: https://ahm.uva.nl/content/research-groups/looted-art-provenance-research-and-restitution-in-the-netherlands/looted-art-provenance-research-and-restitution-in-the-netherlands.html?cb
* Tompkins, A. (ed.) 2020. Provenance Research Today - Principles, Practice, Problems.
* Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Provenance Research: https://www.smb.museum/en/research/provenance-research/
* Cultural Heritage Agency, Ministry of Education, Culture and Science: Provenance Research: https://english.cultureelerfgoed.nl/topics/cultural-goods-from-a-colonial-context/provenance-research
* Colonial Collections Committee: https://committee.kolonialecollecties.nl/
* Getty Provenance Index: https://www.getty.edu/databases-tools-and-technologies/provenance/
Case 1: Nazi looted art
* Kimbell Art Museum, Forth Worth Texas: https://kimbellart.org/collection/ap-196611
* Monument Men and Women Foundation Website: https://www.monumentsmenandwomenfnd.org/resources/art-restitution-cases?srsltid=AfmBOopwozyEUCoapWQWcOFiIV8i12f4EpAhgxjw6wq4hgiDL7GaABw3
Case 2: Colonialism
* PPROCE: https://amsterdam.wereldmuseum.nl/en/about-tropenmuseum/research/provenance-research-colonial-era
* Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), Provenance report regarding Staatsiekrissen (Ceremonial Krisses): https://pure.knaw.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/488924810/RAP_PPROCEprovenanceReport_05_Staatsiekrissen_RV360_5393and5394_v10_202203.pdf
* Final report of the research project: https://pure.knaw.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/496442096/RAP_PPROCE_FinalReport_ENG_v10_202203.pdf
* Clues, Research into provenance history and significance of cultural objects and collections acquired in colonial situations, NIOD: https://www.niod.nl/en/publications/clues-PPROCE
* Provenance Series, Wereldmuseum Amsterdam: https://amsterdam.wereldmuseum.nl/en/about-wereldmuseum-amsterdam/research/provenance-series
Case 3: Illicit Antiquities
* Scanning for restitution: documenting the Allard Pierson’s Centuripe pyxis using cross-polarisation photogrammetry and RTI: https://uvaauas.figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/4DRL_Report_Series_8_-_Scanning_for_restitution_Documenting_the_Allard_Pierson_s_Centuripe_pyxis_using_cross-polarisation_photogrammetry_and_RTI/25620759?file=45698124
* SiciliAntica, Continua la Missione possibile di SiciliAntica Centuripe: https://www.siciliantica.eu/continua-la-missione-possibile-di-siciliantica-centuripe/
* Pyxis information and provenance research Allard Pierson Museum, Amsterdam: https://www.allardpierson.nl/en/search?q=pyxi
Image references
Image References: Page 1 – J. M. W. Turner
* J.M.W. Turner, Glaucus and Scylla: image taken from the Kimbell Art Gallery, Forth Worth, Texas website: https://kimbellart.org/collection/ap-196611
Image References: Page 2 – Ceremonial Kris
* Ceremonial Kris; T. Quist (2022) Provenance report regarding Staatsiekrissen (Ceremonial Krisses): https://pure.knaw.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/488924810/RAP_PPROCEprovenanceReport_05_Staatsiekrissen_RV360_5393and5394_v10_202203.pdf
Image References: Page 3 – Pyxis
* Photos taken by Stefanie while visiting the Allard Pierson Museum
Things We Threw Away – Where to Find the Podcast
* TWTA on Substack – Updates, transcripts, and reflections from the project
* TWTA on Spotify – Listen and follow via Spotify
* TWTA on Apple Podcasts – Available through the Apple Podcasts directory
* TWTA on Instagram – Visual updates, behind the scenes, and illustrated content
* TWTA on Bluesky – Public discussions, reflections, and cross-links
Credits
* Intro and outro music: “Meeting for Two – Background Music for Video Vlog (Hip Hop version, 43s)” via Pixabay Music by White_Records
* Story interlude/underlying music: “Medieval Ambient” via Pixabay Music by DeusLower
* Research behind the script: Stefanie Ulrich
* Editing and post-production: Jona Schlegel
* Cover art: Stefanie Ulrich
Projects by the team members
Jona Schlegel
* Follow on Instagram (@archaeoink): Visual science communication through illustration, websites and archaeology
* jonaschlegel.com: Portfolio and background on archaeological communication, coding, and design
* archaeoink.com: Illustrated archaeology, blog posts, newsletter, and research-based visual storytelling
* pastforwardhub.com: A platform for (freelance) archaeologists who want to create a more sustainable career, be visible, and connect with others
Stefanie Ulrich
* Follow on Instagram (@thepublicarchaeologist): Photography of archaeological objects, and material encounters with a special focus on ancient Rome.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thingswethrewaway.substack.com
View all episodes
By Things We Threw AwayIn this episode of Things We Threw Away, we (Jona and Stefanie) look at provenance and provenance research with the help of three examples. We will explore why it is important for objects, artefacts and even archaeological sites to know where an object comes from.
Provenance research tells us “by whom, when and where an artwork/object was created and who has possessed it during its history, including enquiring into and revealing the circumstances and substantive nature of sequential changes of ownership or possession or both.” (Tompkins 2020: 23). From the available information, we are able to piece together the history of the object and understand its significance in the present.
The three main fields in which provenance research is used are: Nazi looted art, colonialism and the antiquities trade.
Nazi-looted art refers to works of art (or any object) that were confiscated by the Nazi regime, or sold under duress, between 1932/1933 and 1945. There are numerous examples, and it is worth checking some of the websites below for detailed case studies of other objects. As a well-researched and positive example of restitution, we looked at the painting by J. M. W. Turner titled Glaucus and Scylla.
The painting was finished in 1841 and then sold to a private owner at the Royal Academy exhibition in London. Around 60 years later, in 1902, the painting was acquired by the Jewish collectors Anna and John Jeffé. In 1943, the pro-Nazi Vichy government forcibly took it from them. It is unknown who owned the painting from 1943 until 1956. The painting resurfaces in 1956 in London, where it is sold to an art gallery in New York. In 1966, it was acquired by the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas. Following the efforts of one of the heirs of the Jeffé family, the painting was discovered online and finally restituted to the heirs on 25 June 2006. A year later, it was repurchased by the Kimbell Art Museum, which has since been very open about the provenance of the painting.
Research into provenance is also used in the context of objects from former European colonies. This is particularly relevant to those who came to Europe under less than clear circumstances or with force.
In this case, we selected an item from the Wereldmuseum in Amsterdam. A significant research project, PPROCE (Pilot Project Provenance Research on Objects of the Colonial Era) was conducted to look into objects in several museums that have no or little provenance. The object in question, a ceremonial kris, was assumed to be from Indonesia. However, research into the object has shown that it could not be determined where it came from exactly or when it entered the Netherlands. There are two theories: 1. The artefact may have belonged to a man named "H. J. Domis" referring to Hendrik Jacob Domis, who was a civil servant in the ports of Semarang, Pasuruan, and Surabaya on the north coast of Java from 1812 to 1834. The second theory is that it was taken by the British in 1812. The object will remain in the Rijksmuseum, as its exact provenance cannot be ascertained. At least for the time being.
The illicit antiquity trade is the final field in which provenance research will be discussed. In this context, it typically refers to objects from the so-called source countries, such as Italy or Greece, as well as from war zones, including objects from Iran or Syria.
The object that forms the case study for this was, for a while at least, part of the collection in the Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam. It is a red-figure pyxis from the 3rd century BC, originally from Centuripe in Sicily. It came to the museum in 1997 through a dealer called Herbert Cahn. An association called SiciliAntica was going through a photo archive and found that the item had been taken out of Sicily illegally. A public prosecutor from Italy sent a letter to the museum in 2017, asking for the object to be returned to Sicily. The item has now been returned to Sicily in 2024.
Topics with References
General
* Looted Art: Provenance Research and Resitution in the Netherlands: https://ahm.uva.nl/content/research-groups/looted-art-provenance-research-and-restitution-in-the-netherlands/looted-art-provenance-research-and-restitution-in-the-netherlands.html?cb
* Tompkins, A. (ed.) 2020. Provenance Research Today - Principles, Practice, Problems.
* Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Provenance Research: https://www.smb.museum/en/research/provenance-research/
* Cultural Heritage Agency, Ministry of Education, Culture and Science: Provenance Research: https://english.cultureelerfgoed.nl/topics/cultural-goods-from-a-colonial-context/provenance-research
* Colonial Collections Committee: https://committee.kolonialecollecties.nl/
* Getty Provenance Index: https://www.getty.edu/databases-tools-and-technologies/provenance/
Case 1: Nazi looted art
* Kimbell Art Museum, Forth Worth Texas: https://kimbellart.org/collection/ap-196611
* Monument Men and Women Foundation Website: https://www.monumentsmenandwomenfnd.org/resources/art-restitution-cases?srsltid=AfmBOopwozyEUCoapWQWcOFiIV8i12f4EpAhgxjw6wq4hgiDL7GaABw3
Case 2: Colonialism
* PPROCE: https://amsterdam.wereldmuseum.nl/en/about-tropenmuseum/research/provenance-research-colonial-era
* Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), Provenance report regarding Staatsiekrissen (Ceremonial Krisses): https://pure.knaw.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/488924810/RAP_PPROCEprovenanceReport_05_Staatsiekrissen_RV360_5393and5394_v10_202203.pdf
* Final report of the research project: https://pure.knaw.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/496442096/RAP_PPROCE_FinalReport_ENG_v10_202203.pdf
* Clues, Research into provenance history and significance of cultural objects and collections acquired in colonial situations, NIOD: https://www.niod.nl/en/publications/clues-PPROCE
* Provenance Series, Wereldmuseum Amsterdam: https://amsterdam.wereldmuseum.nl/en/about-wereldmuseum-amsterdam/research/provenance-series
Case 3: Illicit Antiquities
* Scanning for restitution: documenting the Allard Pierson’s Centuripe pyxis using cross-polarisation photogrammetry and RTI: https://uvaauas.figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/4DRL_Report_Series_8_-_Scanning_for_restitution_Documenting_the_Allard_Pierson_s_Centuripe_pyxis_using_cross-polarisation_photogrammetry_and_RTI/25620759?file=45698124
* SiciliAntica, Continua la Missione possibile di SiciliAntica Centuripe: https://www.siciliantica.eu/continua-la-missione-possibile-di-siciliantica-centuripe/
* Pyxis information and provenance research Allard Pierson Museum, Amsterdam: https://www.allardpierson.nl/en/search?q=pyxi
Image references
Image References: Page 1 – J. M. W. Turner
* J.M.W. Turner, Glaucus and Scylla: image taken from the Kimbell Art Gallery, Forth Worth, Texas website: https://kimbellart.org/collection/ap-196611
Image References: Page 2 – Ceremonial Kris
* Ceremonial Kris; T. Quist (2022) Provenance report regarding Staatsiekrissen (Ceremonial Krisses): https://pure.knaw.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/488924810/RAP_PPROCEprovenanceReport_05_Staatsiekrissen_RV360_5393and5394_v10_202203.pdf
Image References: Page 3 – Pyxis
* Photos taken by Stefanie while visiting the Allard Pierson Museum
Things We Threw Away – Where to Find the Podcast
* TWTA on Substack – Updates, transcripts, and reflections from the project
* TWTA on Spotify – Listen and follow via Spotify
* TWTA on Apple Podcasts – Available through the Apple Podcasts directory
* TWTA on Instagram – Visual updates, behind the scenes, and illustrated content
* TWTA on Bluesky – Public discussions, reflections, and cross-links
Credits
* Intro and outro music: “Meeting for Two – Background Music for Video Vlog (Hip Hop version, 43s)” via Pixabay Music by White_Records
* Story interlude/underlying music: “Medieval Ambient” via Pixabay Music by DeusLower
* Research behind the script: Stefanie Ulrich
* Editing and post-production: Jona Schlegel
* Cover art: Stefanie Ulrich
Projects by the team members
Jona Schlegel
* Follow on Instagram (@archaeoink): Visual science communication through illustration, websites and archaeology
* jonaschlegel.com: Portfolio and background on archaeological communication, coding, and design
* archaeoink.com: Illustrated archaeology, blog posts, newsletter, and research-based visual storytelling
* pastforwardhub.com: A platform for (freelance) archaeologists who want to create a more sustainable career, be visible, and connect with others
Stefanie Ulrich
* Follow on Instagram (@thepublicarchaeologist): Photography of archaeological objects, and material encounters with a special focus on ancient Rome.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thingswethrewaway.substack.com