Persons, artefacts and events (mostly) leave traces.
There can be many sources for clarifying the origins of an artwork:
- On the artefact itself: labels, stamps, seals, sequential numbers and denotations
- In the museum: inventory registers, purchase documents and correspondence
- In the literature: Inventory and exhibition catalogues, catalogues raisonné, auction catalogues, journals, etc.
- In archives: Resident registration, Gestapo and taxation records, restitution and compensation procedures, business documents from the art trade, exhibition documentation, artists’ estates, etc.
- Online: Databases of lost or sought artworks (e.g. LostArt) or of provenance research
- Personal communication with other researchers
