Editing Provenance (section)

{{short description|Chronology of the ownership, custody or location of a historical object}}
{{other uses}}
{{distinguish|Providence (disambiguation){{!}}Providence}}
[[File:Titian - Diana and Actaeon - 1556-1559.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|[[Diana and Actaeon (Titian)|''Diana and Actaeon'']] by [[Titian]] has a full provenance covering its passage through several owners and four countries since it was painted for [[Philip II of Spain]] in the 1550s.]]

'''Provenance''' ({{etymology|fr|{{Wikt-lang|fr|provenir}}|to come from/forth}}) is the chronology of the ownership, custody or location of a historical object.<ref>''[[OED]]'': "The fact of coming from some particular source or quarter; source, derivation"</ref> The term was originally mostly used in relation to [[works of art]],{{citation needed|date=December 2023}} but is now used in similar senses in a wide range of fields, including [[archaeology]], [[paleontology]], [[archival science]], [[circular economy|economy]], [[computing]], and [[Scientific method|scientific inquiry]] in general.

The primary purpose of tracing the provenance of an object or entity is normally to provide contextual and circumstantial evidence for its original production or discovery, by establishing, as far as practicable, its later history, especially the sequences of its formal ownership, custody and places of storage. The practice has a particular value in helping [[Authentication|authenticate]] objects. Comparative techniques, expert opinions and the results of scientific tests may also be used to these ends, but establishing provenance is essentially a matter of [[document]]ation. The term dates to the 1780s in English. Provenance is conceptually comparable to the legal term ''[[chain of custody]]''.

For museums and the [[art trade]], in addition to helping establish the authorship and authenticity of an object, provenance has become increasingly important in helping establish the moral and legal validity of a chain of custody, given the increasing amount of [[looted art]].  These issues first became a major concern regarding works that had [[Art theft and looting during World War II|changed hands in Nazi-controlled areas]] in Europe before and during World War II.  Many museums began compiling pro-active registers of such works and their history. Recently the same concerns have come to prominence for works of [[African art]], often exported illegally, and antiquities from many parts of the world, but currently especially [[Archaeological looting in Iraq|in Iraq]], and then [[Syria]].<ref>[https://www.artnews.com/2019/06/11/african-art-repatriation-american-museums/ "Better Safe Than Sorry: American Museums Take Measures Mindful of Repatriation of African Art"], by Robin Scher, ''Art News'', 11 June 2019</ref>

In [[archaeology]] and [[paleontology]], the derived term '''provenience''' is used with a related but very particular meaning, to refer to the location (in modern research, recorded precisely in three dimensions) where an artifact or other ancient item was found.<ref name="nps">{{cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/history/seac/terms.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130210004312/http://www.nps.gov/history/seac/terms.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 February 2013|title=Selected Archeological Terms|date=10 February 2013}}</ref> ''Provenance'' covers an object's complete documented history. An artifact may thus have both a provenience and a provenance.