Divine Provenance

As professional appraisers we know that documented evidence of provenance of works of fine art, antiques and antiquities can help to establish that it has not been altered and is not a forgery, reproduction, stolen or looted. Knowledge of provenance can help to assign the work to a known artist and a documented history of ownership can be of use in providing proof.

Of course the quality of provenance of an important work of art can make a considerable difference to its selling price in the market; this is affected by the degree of certainty of the provenance, the status of past owners as collectors, and in many cases by the strength of evidence that an object has not been illegally excavated or exported from another country. The provenance of a work of art may be recorded in various forms depending on context or the amount that is known, from a single name to an entry in a full scholarly catalog several pages long.

Provenance research is a challenging process. Records are often lost or destroyed in the upheaval of war. In addition, the passage of time and world events often make important information difficult, if not impossible to locate. There are often gaps in the provenance of a particular work because an owner may want anonymity or the records of purchase or sale are not available.

It is interesting that even with the lack of quality provenance people are still willing to purchase an object that has questionable provenance and take the chance that it is the "Real McCoy". It continues to be a hot topic in the art and antique world. As you know in many of the articles that we have posted on our blog, major museums and collectors have had to return art and antiquities purchased from dealers or at auction because they were looted or forgeries.

In an article in Forbes magazine this month the short circuiting of provenance talks about two forgeries in the past year. One, a ceramic faun, purportedly by Paul Gauguin, and a pair of circa 1830 English commodes. The faun came to the Art Institute of Chicago via the reputable dealers John Pillar and Libby Howie, who had purchased the piece at a Sotheby's auction. The commodes, sold to a Los Angeles decorator by the respected London antiques dealer John Hobbs, were made by Hobbs' restorer. To read the article click HERE